Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for her contribution.

In response to Deputy Crowe, I want to see all our airports grow. I would like to see more flights out of Shannon, Cork and Ireland West. We see growth in all those airports as well as further projected growth this year in Cork, Shannon, Ireland West and Kerry and small growth in Donegal. For the information of the House, I am working on the preparatory work on the PSO for the Dublin-Derry route, which was a commitment in the programme for Government and one which got excellent support from the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, particularly through the shared island fund. We are working on that. A Dublin-Derry air route in 2026 is a commitment we would like to see delivered. On an all-island and an all-Ireland basis, it is critical. I have engaged with colleagues in the North on that.

I have met with Shannon Group. I have met with DAA, not just on Dublin but on Cork as well. I will meet representatives of the other regional airports shortly to go through their plans.

In response to Deputy Conway-Walsh, I am familiar with the potential investment there and we want to support that as best we can. Looking at the industrial zones or commercial zones around our airports, the on-campus jobs are critical but there are also the indirect jobs. Take Dublin Airport as an example. About 22,000 people are employed directly on campus, with about 135,000 indirect jobs. As airports grow, for every additional 1 million passengers there are about another thousand direct jobs. That is how important aviation is.

I will work with colleagues on this. The cross-party group on Shannon is earnest and very supportive of further growth in Shannon. I will support it in what it needs to do. As Deputy Quinlivan knows and as has been rightly said here, the Government cannot direct airlines where to fly, but I have met with our airlines. I have met with Aer Lingus and Ryanair. I have met with Airlines for America. We have discussions with them as regards Ireland as a whole. We see that Aer Lingus's and Ryanair's commitment to Ireland is very firm. Where it makes sense to add routes, they will, and I encourage them to do that.

As regards regional airports, that piece of work should be finished by the end of this year.

As regards national aviation policy, I take the point made and I am taking a ten-year view. That can be reviewed along the way. It is not set in stone. It should be a living document; a living plan. We have significant investment in our airports. I referred to the €200 million investment in Cork Airport, which is really significant. It will transform that airport. The three Ministers here - myself and the Ministers of State, Deputies Canney and Buttimer - are very supportive of our aviation sector and fully recognise the importance of the sector to our economy and our society.

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