Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is true to say that the Deputy has been a very consistent and strong advocate for Shannon Airport and the Shannon area. At the beginning of the week, we met with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. One of the first comments he made regarding Ireland's historic relationship with China involved the degree to which China took on board the example of the Shannon free development zone. Shannon was one of the first areas he highlighted regarding how it led the way in terms of industrial development and how the Chinese more or less followed through on similar proposals decades ago. I take on board what the Deputy is saying because there will be very significant developments, particularly around AI, future mobility testing and so on. I will take the points made by the Deputy about the expansion and development of certain industries allied to Shannon Airport back to the Minister

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