Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

Mr. Denis Brosnan is a reputable entrepreneur. His record as head of the Kerry Group is beyond criticism. He built it up to be an amazing international company. He has been involved in other business projects and has been equally successful. He is admired throughout the region. He took this on as a public service task. I was amazed last week at how forthright and blunt he was in saying that of the 20 recommendations across the various Departments he could get neither access nor action and that nothing was happening. Even the Fianna Fáil Deputies will vouch for that. That was the blunt message.

According to the statistics I have, the mid-west region has the highest unemployment level in the country at 13.8%. Among the under 25s the unemployment level is more than 20% in the mid west. Many young people have emigrated and many others have continued in education which tends to keep the figure lower. The Tánaiste spoke of IDA Ireland being the pillar of initiatives in the mid west. IDA Ireland has done nothing for Limerick in the past two or three years. Its senior executives did not even meet the task force. No IDA Ireland manager based in Dublin bothered to meet the task force. All connections were through the local office and neither Enterprise Ireland nor IDA Ireland has delivered a job coming from inward investment in the region in the past two years. Their record is appalling. To assure us that everything will be all right because IDA Ireland has it in hand is absolute cod.

Shannon Airport is crucial to the region. However, because of the apathy of the Government and the hostility of the Dublin Airport Authority, it is on the way to being closed down. There was a 12% decline in passenger numbers in 2008. While the 2009 figures have not been published yet, they are indicating a decline of between 12% and 15%. Aer Lingus has withdrawn many of its transatlantic services. Ryanair is pulling out the bulk of its planes based there from 1 March and Shannon is losing its status as a major international airport. Shannon has been crucial to the development of the region, not only through the direct employment it provides at the airport, but as the gateway for tourism and for inward investment. The Shannon issue must be addressed.

I cannot understand why the Government will not abolish the travel tax. Given that it collects such a small amount of money, that there is such pressure on and that Ryanair has committed to increasing the throughput of tourists if the travel tax is abolished, I cannot understand why it is still there. The dead hand of the Dublin Airport Authority must be removed from Shannon. The two airports are competitors. The Dublin Airport Authority has no interest in promoting Shannon. Shannon must be given autonomy and allowed to find its own way and market Shannon for other airlines now that it has been let down by Aer Lingus.

The Tánaiste briefly referred to other recommendations of the task force. I am glad about what she said on the Lynxs project, but she seemed to centre it in Dublin rather than in Shannon even though the original initiative was in Shannon.

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