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

On the contrary, the Government takes one third of its profits in dividends to pay for services across the country.

We need to see if there is something we can do, particularly for Shannon Airport. Although it has very strong routes to the UK, including Heathrow in particular, and North America, it lacks a route to a significant continental hub such as Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam or Copenhagen. If that could be achieved through marketing supports, it would be of real benefit to the airport. In so doing, we need to ensure we get it right. More flights to Malaga, Faro or Mallorca would be of little economic benefit to the region. If one provides route supports to an airport, one must ensure it does not cannibalise another. It is of no benefit to the country as a whole for a route to be moved from Cork Airport to Shannon Airport.

I am interested in this issue. I have been in touch with the chairman of the airport and recently met her in Limerick. We are examining proposals in regard to how we could, in a meaningful way, assist the airport to get more routes.

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