Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, outlined previous funding announcements in her statement that were very much welcome at the time but I am here to tell her that it is not enough for Shannon Airport. I take no pleasure in commenting on the sorry state of aviation recovery this afternoon but I know that the people of Clare are absolutely exhausted and frustrated by the lack of direct action and ambition from the Department of Transport in the threatened status of our regional airports and, specifically, Shannon Airport.

It is indisputably at a critical point and Covid-19 has obviously had a detrimental effect on the aviation industry. What is even more devastating, however, is the lack of preventative measures taken to preserve the increasingly threatened stability of Shannon Airport. We have seen the net result of laissez-faireGovernment involvement as our airports have essentially had to compete against one another. That is no way to protect an industry and to ensure equal opportunities to thrive. The whole island benefits from balanced regional development and it makes sense, as our nation’s aviation sector as a whole would be more resilient, sustainable and equitable if balanced, regional development was genuinely high on the priority list for the Government. Dublin Airport Authority will protect Dublin and Cork airports but what about the rest of the regional airports of this island?

What about Shannon specifically? The dwindling numbers of both footfall and staff numbers demonstrated that Shannon Airport needed more protectionist measures to be taken to safeguard its viability. The Government response has consistently been a reactionary one rather than proactive and it has failed to take affirmative concrete action. Shannon Airport, as we know, boasts the longest runway in the country. It is also continuously mislabelled as a regional airport when it is in fact an international airport. Recently, a local Sinn Féin councillor, Donna McGettigan, set up a petition calling for a semi-State authority encompassing the international airports of Shannon, Cork and Dublin and within a week it received over 13,500 signatures. This is what the people want.

We know that the aviation sector has taken multiple blows. The pandemic essentially ground their activity to a halt. However, the broken record of reference after reference to task forces being set up, of reports and reviews, is not lost on the people. These exercises in futility have amounted to little more than a talking shop where very little concrete constructive action is taken. Where are the findings of the review, for example, as pledged by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, into the Shannon Group structures? The findings were never published or made known to the public and it seems futile to continue issuing reviews or reports if the conclusions of these inquiries are not used instructively.

The same goes for the task force for aviation recovery, as established by the former Minister, Shane Ross, last year. The recommendations were never implemented. Why has the Department commissioned reviews and simply not paid heed to their recommendations?

The aviation sector has been waiting for a roadmap as to how to proceed and emerge from these 15 months of stagnation and has not been given accurate guidance on how to plan for the reopening. The Government has held back on commitments to the extended provision of significant financial support for airports and airline workers and at the same time, it has refused to take measures to ensure that a swift, safe, and sustainable return of international travel is even possible.

Where does that leave the sector? The health of Shannon Airport is intrinsically linked to the integrity of tourism, hospitality and many other micro-economies that are of great importance to Clare and the region. I urge the Minister of State to consider the reintegration of Shannon Airport back into a national authority if the mid-west region is to recover from this pandemic..

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