Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020 creates a single aviation regulator for safety, security, economic regulation and consumer protection. It is something with which I am in full agreement.

Last April I raised rapid testing at airports with the then Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and have repeatedly raised it since. That is going back nine or ten months ago and I was very disappointed that no Deputy in Cork supported my call. I was involved in a meeting with Cork Airport when I raised it there. I find it unbelievable that it is only in the last while that we are talking about testing in our airports. Not one person should be able to enter or leave our islands without a negative PCR test. It is very simple testing and should have been mandatory from the very start. Every aircraft route that leaves Ireland will represent lost jobs and lost GDP. It is an economic fact that if our airlines are allowed to go out of business, the consequences for the Irish economy will be devastating. Cork South-West relies on tourism for a huge part of our economy. When the pandemic is over we will need our tourists back and for Cork airport to be brought up to full strength as it was before. Most Governments across the world have recognised such dangers and have accepted that if they should intervene in airline operations for the sake of the virus suppression, then they must ensure that those airlines do not go out of business as a result. New Zealand, so often our favourite Covid comparator, moved quickly to extend supports worth €900 million to Air New Zealand. Much closer to home, the list includes Air France, British Airways and Air Portugal to the tune of €7 billion, €2.5 billion and €1.2 billion, respectively. The UK Government provided a loan worth €670 million to Ryanair, an Irish airline, such was the value it placed on its contribution to the UK economy. Why does Ireland remain an outlier as the only European country to not provide meaningful financial support to its indigenous airlines? The window for decisive action is fast closing. Airlines plan and budget for the vitally important summer schedule at this time of year and will soon have to make hard decisions based on expected market conditions. The Government needs to understand that creditors and airline owners will not allow for yet another summer. They will cut their losses and move their money and assets to other countries that support aviation. The market will not save Ireland's airlines. If international travel must be suppressed into the future then significant financial support for Irish airlines is the only option to avert the sector's collapse. If the Government intervenes to suppress travel, it must also act to save our airlines from destruction. It cannot have it both ways. The Government needs to provide meaningful financial support to Ireland's airlines before it is too late.

I will also raise the way in which some of the airlines have acted towards their employees, something I raised when the CEO of Aer Lingus was before the Covid-19 response committee. I asked about people's basic social welfare rights. Many employees were unfortunately in a situation where they might have a day or two of work a week but not much more than that. At the time, Aer Lingus was refusing to sign off on the Xs and Os, unlike other employers. Maybe it is above the people, I do not know, but it is looking for supports to survive. On that occasion, its representatives promised they would come back to me to provide full clarity on their intentions towards their employees but I never heard anything since. That is seven or eight months ago and I am very frustrated because at the same time, the airline expects the nation to support it.

I stress the importance of Cork and Shannon airports, as well as Dublin. Cork Airport is very important to tourism in west Cork, places such as Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Bantry, Kinsale, Bandon, down to the Sheep's Head, Mizen Head and the Bere Peninsula. People fly into Cork Airport to holiday in these beauty spots. We will return to that day soon again but we need to support our airports to ensure that they are on a firm footing, ready to go back to the way they were prior to this Covid disaster. I would appreciate if all supports that can be given to Cork Airport are given to it in the future. Any support we can provide to the Government within the Dáil to ensure this will be given.

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