Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I do not disagree that Shannon continues to be very important strategically in the context of aviation. There are a number of maintenance and support companies in Shannon for Lufthansa and Aer Lingus. While I support the Links project, as does the Minister for Transport, all the Deputies in the mid west region and the DAA, it is not fully mature yet in order to move on to final decision making. There are issues with EU competition but we are working towards resolving that matter. The task force has afforded it a high priority and we will ensure, in the context of the former's final report, it remains so.

I am sure the answer with regard to the issues, from Ryanair's perspective, relating to the availability of flights will be made known.

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