Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is important that people's expectations are not raised. Before elections, there are nonsensical announcements and all that. It is a ten-year period before this will be done with utilities and all of that which needs to be done to develop this zone. Things can be done in the meantime but people's expectations need to be managed. There is a critical opportunity here. In 2021, Sinn Féin wrote to the European Commission seeking a total exemption from state aid rules for regional airports such as Ireland West Airport Knock due to the challenges of Brexit and Covid-19. Will the Minister of State consider pursuing this objective to enable Ireland West Airport SDZ to reach its full potential? There is no western rail corridor and the all-island strategic rail review was grim reading for the north west. These issues are interconnected but they present a unique opportunity that we cannot wait to have implemented.

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