Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleagues in pleading with the Minister of State to ensure that the Shannon Heritage sites remain open all year round. If such a proposal comes from the Shannon Group, I ask her to support it with the necessary funding.

It is also important that the State should step forward and provide the necessary state aid to keep the airport operational and to facilitate capital expenditure works. We need a balanced regional policy for aviation if we are to stop the galloping, runaway horse that is Dublin Airport, which has a monopoly on air travel into our country. I plead with the Minister of State, who is from the west of Ireland, to buy into this effort and deal with the situation. A very congested Dublin Airport is not good for the country. We must try to spread those passengers out to Shannon and other airports in the post-Covid era. I look forward to the Minister of State's reply.

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