Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In response to Deputy Cairn's concerns regarding employees, I chair a subgroup of the Labour Employer Economic Forum comprising representatives of employers and employees within aviation, which is examining the further needs of the sector. There are also references in the national economic recovery plan to additional supports for the aviation sector, if required. All of this is under consideration. I am aware of the stresses and concerns for employees in the sector but the Government has acted quickly. We have been watching the situation closely. What we wanted to do straightaway when Covid struck was to protect our airports and infrastructure to make sure they were in a position to rebound through this.

On the PSO and expediting that process, we engaged on that over the weekend. Officials have been engaging with the European Commission on that process. I assure Deputies that the process will happen as fast as possible. This week the Department will write directly to airlines. They will need a week to reply but every effort is being made to expedite the process. I am hopeful that by the time we open up international travel on 19 July, we will have those routes in place, all going well.

On the issue of the market responding, it is a positive step that the market responds and is a good sign for Ireland. We should look at that positively. The fact that the market stepped in and that there are expressions of interest for the PSO routes is positive. The Deputies can be assured that regional connectivity and restoring international travel in a safe way are priorities for Government.

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