Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies. They are right. Not only does the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Catherine Martin, have an interest in this, I and the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, are very aware that the Shannon Group as a whole is in real difficulty, along with the rest of the aviation and tourism sector. I will commit to examining the proposal from the Shannon Group. The Deputies made the point that the indicative cost may include the cost of the wage subsidy scheme, which the State is already covering, and to consider that in particular. As they have suggested, down the line there may be other options involving the OPW or local authorities.

In terms of the immediate issue in Clare and Limerick, I have heard what Deputies said about the particular importance of these sites to the wider tourism industry. As I understand the matter, it is true that the numbers are still very low. The number of overseas visitors is next to nil. I have heard that the domestic numbers are still a fraction of what they were in previous years. We have a particular problem. I encourage our people to visit the fantastic facilities in the region, but that on its own will not be enough. We will have to intervene with the Shannon Group because it is suffering more than any other organisation due to the loss of flights and the effective shutdown of the overseas tourism industry. We have to manage that the situation and I will commit to keeping the Deputies present and other local Deputies informed about what is happening. I will always have an open door in the context of hearing their views on the best approach for us to take. I cannot commit to anything here, but it is very useful to have had this debate.

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