Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Lowry. To reiterate my position, which I am not saying is that of the Deputy, I do not see it as a choice between the passenger cap at Dublin Airport being resolved and the growth of our regional airports. Frankly, we need to do both. This is an island; air connectivity is important. In fairness to my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, who has responsibility for this area, he has been to Shannon Airport three times already over the summer. I hope that is seen in the region as a sign of his commitment and that of the Government to Shannon Airport. The Deputy is right; this airport has significant infrastructure. It already has capacity to grow further within the confines of that infrastructure. It has good leadership. I had the pleasure of meeting the chief executive when I was down there to see President Zelenskyy a couple of months ago. It has a US preclearance facility. Passenger numbers are growing, with the highest passenger numbers at that airport since 2009. We see airlines like Ryanair making a decision to significantly expand the number of seats going to Shannon Airport this year by approximately 30,000. We will work with the Deputy. I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, to keep in touch with him on this matter.

See this speech in context