Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Some Deputies, although not as many as I would have thought, made reference to the issue of the workers in this scenario, particularly those from Shannon Airport and Shannon Development, whose current terms and conditions are to be transferred - although, to be fair, this was enshrined in the 2004 Act. Discussions have taken place with ICTU, which will have representation on the implementation steering group that is being established, as it will also have on the future board. It is important to acknowledge the workers in both organisations who have contributed much to the region and to broader policy in the country. I know this as I live and work among them, and many of them live quite close to me. It is important that the terms and conditions are transferred over.

There are great possibilities for the mid-west with the changeover in regard to the future work of Fáilte Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in the region. There have been some positive developments in the budget with regard to enhancing this decision on the future of the airport - for example, many of the budget activation measures and the aviation incentives with regard to capital schemes to construct hangars and other ancillary facilities and to finding other funding sources for the airport. These will be expanded on by the Minister for Finance in the near future.

A number of Deputies made reference to the projected passenger numbers, which are ambitious, although I make no apology for that. We cannot continue on as we are, with 1.5 million passengers this year. I also point out that there have been a number of recent announcements about the airport, such as that from United Airlines, and also from Aer Lingus in regard to Faro. These announcements are positive for the airport and will have a huge impact on the mid-west, although I note they will not have an impact on Knock. While the passenger numbers are ambitious, they are achievable.

What we are aiming for is the creation of an international aviation services centre that can generate non-passenger revenue. We have MOUs for 850 jobs, which I presume everyone in the House welcomes. We are also looking to develop more than 3,000 jobs in the next five years, and I am sure the Deputies opposite will be quite visible in welcoming those jobs when they materialise.

There is great capacity at Shannon Airport, which is a unique airport and one of which I am very supportive. It has the longest runway in Europe, it has pre-clearance and it has lands available to it. We have to leverage those competitive advantages, which is what this strategy is all about.

Deputy Ellis said the Labour Party was in favour of privatisation. I genuinely do not have a clue what he is referring to. If he can find one such utterance in regard to Shannon Airport, he might show it to me, as I do not believe it is there.

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