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

I thank all Members who contributed to the debate for their kind words and candour as well as for doing the important job of parliamentarians, which is to hold Government to account, point out flaws in Bills and propose improvements to them. I am genuinely grateful for that. The journey with Shannon began some three years ago when the initial decision was taken to separate it from the other State airports. While there is another session in the Seanad after this, a great deal of important work has been done in the last three years.

The Bill provides the legislative framework for a new Shannon group and a successful airport situated amid a successful aviation hub. It preserves the possibility of separating Cork Airport in future and provides a legislative framework for what I hope will be a resolution to the problems in the IAS pension scheme, allowing pensioners and future pensioners to have some security about their pensions. This has been an ongoing problem. I hope an agreement can be reached and that the legislative tools being put in place in the Bill will facilitate people in coming to a satisfactory agreement. The Bill further provides for us to adopt the alternative of the Cape Town Convention, which is designed to hold and advance our global position in aircraft leasing, which is particularly important to our economy.

I extend my thanks in particular to the officials in my Department who have been working on the Bill night and day for a very long time. They include Mary Dunning, Paddy Campbell, Matt Benville and, from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Stephen Curran. I also thank my special advisor, Brian Murphy, for whom this has been a special project. I extend my thanks to Rose Hynes and Neil Pakey, the chairman and CEO of Shannon Airport Authority, respectively, as well as to the board and staff at Shannon, Shannon Development and the board and staff of the DAA.

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