Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Today's news came as a devastating blow, first, to the workers and their families, and I hope something can be done even now to salvage these jobs, and, second, to Cork Airport as a whole. There are over 10,000 people whose employment relies either directly or indirectly on it and I have been contacted by many of those people, including people working as baggage handlers, for shops and for different businesses connected to the airport. They are very worried.

For the region as a whole, if we are serious about Cork being the fastest growing city in the State and the island over the next 20 or 30 years, we need to have a viable international airport with serious international connectivity. There are serious concerns for the future and the connectivity of the airport off the back of this. It is clear the testing regime is a big problem here. We have not been able to get a handle on it. A lot of time was lost over the summer and we need to get this right now and to ensure these airports get back on an even keel as soon as possible because they are crucial for regional development and for all the jobs that rely upon them.

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