Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, I thank Deputy Dooley for raising this matter today. I pass on the Minister's apologies.

Shannon Airport, established by statute in September 2014, is a strategic business within Shannon Group. It is a commercial state company whose purpose is to promote and facilitate air transport and aviation services in and around Shannon Airport and to optimise the return on its land and property and on its shareholdings in subsidiary companies. Therefore, as a State-owned enterprise with a fully commercial mandate, operational issues in regard to Shannon Airport, in the first instance, are matters for the airport. All of us here today can agree that the statutory role carried out by Shannon Airport is extremely important. This is acknowledged in the national aviation policy, NAP, which recognises the strategic importance of Shannon for connectivity for the mid-west region and as a gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way.

Since Shannon Airport's separation from the DAA in 2012, it has seen passenger numbers increase by 34%. That is a significant increase in seven years. As recently reported in the group's annual report for 2018, the airport has been the fastest growing outside Dublin, and it enjoyed its sixth consecutive year of growth. Indeed, 2018 saw an increase of 6.5%, or 113,000 passengers, over 2017, growth attributable to, for example, new services to Barcelona, Bristol and Liverpool, through Ryanair, and growth in transatlantic traffic, which increased by 7% to 427,000 passengers, with Shannon operating its highest number of transatlantic routes in nine years during 2018.

The Deputy is correct in pointing out that the company had been forecasting growth of about 5% in passenger numbers for 2019. That has not transpired. So far, we have seen a loss but there are a number of factors. The volatility of the global aviation market has been felt this year by airports around the world, including Shannon Airport, due a combination of issues, including an increase in geopolitical risks and unstable oil prices, as well as the ongoing grounding of the Boeing 737 Max. This has affected greatly a number of services that were operating or due to resume or commence operations from Shannon Airport in 2019. This has impacted passenger numbers at the airport. While these matters are totally outside the control of the company, I am aware that it is working hard to deal with the fallout and put in place alternative services at the earliest opportunity. The Minister's Department is working with the airport to explore what marketing supports might be available to assist this work.

It is important, however, to point out that decisions by airlines on the routes and services they provide are commercial matters in which the Minister has no function. Under Project 2040, Shannon Group, through its subsidiaries, which include Shannon Airport, has plans to invest in excess of €150 million in its capital programme over the period to 2022.

This includes a significant investment in the construction of a wide-body aeroplane hangar. This will be the first such hangar constructed at an Irish airport in over 20 years and represents the kind of expansion that was envisaged in order to grow a globally recognised and internationally competitive aviation industry cluster in and around the airport campus. The reputation of the International Aviation Services Centre, IASC, was boosted in 2018 when it was appointed as the first Irish member of the European Aerospace Cluster Partnership, an EU-funded association that brings together the principal aerospace industry clusters in Europe.

Shannon Airport provides essential strategic transport infrastructure, as has been pointed out, and services to airport users and the wider community in and around Shannon and to many of those who are transiting through. In a small country such as ours, it is important, if not vital, that Shannon Airport continues to exploit opportunities that benefit all citizens which support both the local economy and that of the State. It is also vital that the stakeholders in the region support the airport in order to optimise opportunities for growing services and to ensure their viability by using them. The Minister supports all endeavours of the group to ensure that the prosperity of Shannon Airport is in line with Government policy.

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