James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It has been on the agenda of former taoisigh for years. In one of his party's manifestos, the former Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, promised to develop Abbeyshrule airfield. The poor man has passed away and may his soul rest in peace. However, very little happened to develop that airfield, even during Mr. Reynolds' years as Minister for Industry and Commerce and later as Taoiseach. The site is approximately 69 acres and can be compared to London City Airport. The airfield is on a similar demographic scale to that English airport and both airports are situated on land that is similar in size.

Within a 30-mile radius of Abbeyshrule there is a population in excess of 300,000. There are currently 20 or 30 people in permanent employment at the facility, which should not be overlooked. Activities take place on the airfield some 364 days per year, with the exception of Christmas Day. One of the main attractions of Abbeyshrule is its location. A regional airport is out of the question but with an extension of just 100 m to the existing runway, which is exactly 1,100 m long, 80 to 90-seater planes could land there. We already have a commercial attraction in the shape of the new Center Parcs development, but we now need proper infrastructure in order to attract even more visitors and industry to the midlands region.

If the sale of Aer Lingus goes ahead, then it is vital to use the finance raised to upgrade our smaller airstrips. Abbeyshrule airstrip is a prime example of a project that would be good for tourism and infrastructure. Most importantly, it would provide value for money.

The potential of this development should not be ignored. As a midlands Deputy, I am pleading with the Minister to examine the possibility of developing that airfield. It would generate employment for the region and would also boost tourism. Its development would provide a value-for-money project for the midlands. It now makes more sense than ever to provide this valuable facility to encourage inward investment to the midlands.

Many fine infrastructural projects are under development in the region. In addition, the River Shannon is a great amenity which attracts tourists from America and Europe, including Germany. Visitors are in love with the midlands, but accessibility is a problem at the moment. Tourists or business people flying into Dublin airport should be able to take a small carrier to Abbeyshrule, so they would be within easy reach of all those facilities within minutes.

The midlands region is crying out for infrastructural development and has been overlooked on so many occasions for funding. It got a raw deal in the national spatial strategy, which has now been abandoned. The region was also bypassed in Transport 21, which was announced with a huge fanfare of publicity at that time. However, very little of that programme has been implemented. Plans were in place to continue the motorway from Mullingar down to Rooskey and it was ready to roll in 2009 and 2010 with the purchase of lands in the requisite areas, but to date that has not happened.

I hope therefore that some of the funds acquired from the sale of Aer Lingus will go towards the development of important infrastructure in the midlands region, which has been greatly neglected for many years. The time is ripe for such development, so the Minister should take this idea on board. I know he has been listening-----

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