Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for affording me the opportunity to raise this issue. I am disappointed the Tánaiste is not available to clarify the comments made in this House last night. Perhaps she could also update me on her meeting with Michael O'Leary.

While I accept that Ryanair is not interested in building an aircraft maintenance facility at Shannon Airport, I am deeply concerned about the airline's plan to axe 18 destinations from its schedule at the airport from next month. The recession is having a more severe impact on the tourism industry in the mid-west region than on any other region in the country. Passenger numbers slumped by 27% last year and access capacity through Shannon Airport has decreased significantly. Capacity has dropped by 50% in transatlantic traffic, 37% in European traffic and 11% in British traffic, and the outlook for 2010 is even bleaker. When I met Michael O'Leary tonight, I encouraged him to return to Shannon Airport and to provide flights to his previous destinations. He said the travel tax is still a major impediment to a new deal. I am interested to hear the Tánaiste's view following her meeting with Michael O'Leary.

Earlier this evening, we debated a motion of confidence in the Minister for Defence, Deputy Willie O'Dea. I remind the House of what the Minister, Deputy O'Dea, said when the recommendations of the interim report on the mid-west task force were debated in this House last month regarding the Lynxs cargo facility: "A great deal of work is being done behind the scenes in this matter and an announcement is imminent." Is that another case of mistaken recollection by the Minister? In response to questions I raised with the Tánaiste on the Lynxs project in the House last night, she said, "It is not fully mature yet, in order to move on to final decision making". She continued: "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 deeply concerned about those comments as I fear the region could lose the Lynxs facility if the Government does not fast-track the project. I would like to know what the Tánaiste meant by saying the project was not "fully mature". I hope there is no suggestion of another report. We are blue in the face with reports. We need Government action. Even the chairman of the task force is frustrated by the Government's inaction. He is on record as saying that he has no notion of wasting his time moving on to complete the final report until a number of the recommendations of the interim report are acted upon. If the Tánaiste is going to wait for the task force's final report, we could be waiting for another two or three years. One could ask if we will ever see a final report.

When the Lynxs Group signed a memorandum of agreement with the Shannon Airport Authority in March 2009, it anticipated that the final stages of construction would be in place in 2011. The company will be lucky if the Government has made a decision on the project by then. The Lynxs Group is investing more than $15 million in the project. A total of €7 million is required in investment to upgrade the airport's infrastructure. I refer to improvements to the runway, the building of a new taxiway and the provision of additional aircraft parking spaces. That is not a significant amount of money. It is peanuts compared to the €62 million the Government wasted on e-voting machines, for example.

The Lynxs Group has an international reputation for building and managing first class cargo facilities across the world. When the green shoots begin to emerge in the industry, which will happen sooner rather than later, the first business to show improvement will be air freight. We have to be ready to capitalise on the opportunities which are presented.

Our region is being paralysed and strangled by the Government's lack of decision making. This country's reputation abroad will be damaged if we are seen to be a country that is paralysed by bureaucracy, red tape and indecision. The development of Shannon Airport as a first class cargo facility in partnership with the Lynxs Group is a project which is strategically important to the future of the airport. The Government's task force recognises its merits and its strategic importance for the mid-west region. One can ask what else is needed to convince the Government of the merits of the proposal.

I seek to clarify a number of issues such as the timescale and whether the Tánaiste will bring the project to fruition before the task force's final report. It would be unforgivable if the jobs to be created by the project are lost to the region because of Government inaction. I urge the Minister of State to clarify the situation regarding the Lynxs project. What is needed is a serious approach to the project by the Government, for it to show leadership and that it is equal to the task. It might be necessary to make a leap of faith and give the project the green light to proceed.

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