Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 64, 108, 144 and 643 together.

These questions relate to the Shannon group. As the Deputies will be aware, at its meeting on 23 July the Government approved the heads, or general scheme, of the Shannon aviation services and miscellaneous provisions Bill which provides for the creation of the new Shannon group entity, incorporating the Shannon Airport Authority, SAA, and a restructured Shannon Development. The heads are now with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting of the Bill. I also forwarded the heads of the Bill to the Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications for any views the committee may have, and where appropriate these can be incorporated into the drafting process. The heads are posted on the Department’s website. The timescale for publication of the Bill will largely depend on the drafting process and I remain hopeful we can publish and proceed with enactment in the current Dáil session although I recognise this will be challenging.

At its core, the Bill will provide for SAA and Shannon Development under a unified management structure to facilitate renewed passenger growth and to maximise the potential of the airport facilities at Shannon and of the land bank and properties in the adjacent Shannon free zone for development, growth and jobs, particularly in aviation-related services. The business development task force report of last November pointed to the real opportunities to develop and grow a specialist employment hub for aviation-related services, building on the existing industry cluster in Shannon which already employs more than 1,600 people. Over a five-year period, the task force estimated that an expanded aviation services centre at Shannon could create over 3,000 new jobs.

A key driver for these initiatives was the dramatic fall in passenger traffic at Shannon airport since 2007 and the need to restructure Shannon Development. Based on passenger numbers to the end of August and projections for the remainder of the year, it is expected the first key objective of the independent airport authority, namely to halt the slide in traffic, will be secured this year. This will be a major achievement for the board and new management team in Shannon and the employees at the airport. I am confident they will build on this achievement and secure renewed growth in the years ahead.

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