Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Bill. Its purpose is to give legal effect to the preclearance agreement signed by the Minister and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in Washington in November 2008. We will now be able to allow aircraft to land at an extensive range of US airports, facilitating easy connectivity to all points within the United States. By improving the passenger experience of those travelling to the US, preclearance should contribute significantly to growth in travel to the US and to new business for Irish airports.

This facility starts in Shannon on 29 July next and in Dublin Airport next year. I welcome the fact that the US authorities have no plans to introduce similar facilities elsewhere in Europe. Preclearance offers significant marketing opportunities for Irish airports. British Airways is considering a business class only service from London City Airport to the United States with a stop at Shannon precisely for the purpose of taking advantage of preclearance services. We can expect an increase in private and business aircraft through Shannon and I welcome the potential job creation for the mid-west. There are great opportunities also for Aer Lingus and air transport will play a major role in our economic recovery. Ireland is a peripheral location and the west and mid-west are even more peripheral. There is now a great competitive advantage in terms of attracting tourism but there is also the question of the charges which I hope will be reasonable.

We are all aware of the delays at airports in the United States, with queues to clear immigration that last for hours and further queues for onward flights. It was stated that the personnel who carry out inspections would have immunity, which raises the question of whether there will be controls and an appeals mechanism. People who obtain preclearance will have the same privileges as a US citizen arriving in the US. This is the only way to deal with the issue because people may feel threatened and use other ways of entering the US. The American authorities, as we know, are strict about travel documentation and they introduced the biometric passport to enforce their strict regulations.

As Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, I dealt with the issue of passports and introduced a Bill to update the situation. There seem to be queries with regard to larger photographs for diplomatic and official passports. The Minister might reply on this issue.

The mention of people trying to get into the United States in different ways raises the issue of undocumented Irish immigrants in the US. People in that situation have encountered serious difficulties in coming home on the occasion of family bereavements or weddings. They may also need medical treatment and find it unaffordable, and elderly Irish immigrants may have concerns about the cost of long-stay hospitals, nursing homes or carers, as occurred in a situation I was dealing with in recent times. This is a real issue affecting Irish people and we must continue to work on it.

This Bill will be of great benefit to the economy and commerce in this country as well as the passengers concerned. I hope Shannon Airport will get more business in Europe. It always amazes me that it takes so long to get from any Irish airport to eastern Europe, for example, even though Ireland is a member of the EU. I used to notice when I was on the Council of Europe that one had to get three flights to travel to new member states. Our MEPs talk regularly about the poor service to Strasbourg for meetings of the European Parliament. These are issues that will, I hope, be dealt with. We have a strong business relationship with the US and I hope the Bill will attract industry to this country, including American multinationals, and provide new business opportunities.

The Department of Transport is the lead Department with regard to radioactive materials. We do not have a central facility in this regard and there is an issue of whether the US preclearance officers have the necessary instruments to identify radioactive materials. Has a protocol been devised for the finding of radioactive materials? There are take-back agreements with suppliers but this does not always apply to colleges and laboratories. We need to clarify such issues.

This Bill is a vote of confidence in the Shannon region. Shannon Airport is a key Irish airport and this agreement will give it a competitive advantage, which is important in the context of the recession. I hope when the world economy improves we will have other aviation opportunities. Shannon is an excellent facility. I am honoured to be living close to both Shannon and Knock airports. As has been mentioned, Shannon has great facilities and does not have the same congestion as we see at some of the city airports. I hope we can market this preclearance facility at a reasonable price. This should be a successful business development and I hope tourism and commerce will continue to develop in the Shannon and mid-west region.

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