Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to raise this important issue. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee, but I am deeply disappointed that the senior Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, is not present to deal with this debate. That is in no way undermining the capacity of the Minister of State to deal with the issue. If there were a photo opportunity that would encourage the Minister to look better or add to his public profile, he would certainly find time to participate. Notwithstanding that, I must put to the House that Shannon Airport is a vital piece of the infrastructural jigsaw that drives the mid-western regional economy.

The entire country is facing an enormous challenge owing to Brexit, as the Minister of State will be well aware. Whether there is a hard or soft Brexit, this country is facing very difficult circumstances that will challenge economic growth and the capacity to retain jobs and attract tourists. It beggars belief that the State has not found it possible to support Shannon Development in its current activity. The airport is currently investing €20 million in safety and security measures. This should have been funded by the central Exchequer as part of a programme of support for regional development, particularly when we are facing a very strong headwind, which will undoubtedly come whether there is a hard or soft Brexit. Shannon Airport has had to take the €20 million from its own resources, resources that would be better deployed supporting the continued development of the airport, continued route development and an increase in traffic. Unfortunately, the money has to be poured into the base infrastructure, leaving no capacity to use the funds to increase capacity at the airport.

In 2019, passenger numbers are already disappointing and are predicted to get worse. The continued grounding of the Norwegian Boeing 737 Max fleet has added further to a poor set of circumstances. Since its disconnection from Dublin Airport, given its independence, Shannon Airport has failed to meet expected growth targets. According to the predictions made in 2012, passenger numbers were expected to be approximately 2.5 million but the airport has scarcely 1.8 million passengers now. This is a long way short of what would be considered to be acceptable and necessary to retain a viable airport. We have seen passenger numbers fall this year by somewhere close to 5%, or maybe higher when extrapolated over the rest of the year. Passenger numbers in Dublin Airport are up by approximately 8.4% and the numbers in Cork, Donegal, Kerry and Knock airports are up 11%, 7%, 5% and 9%, respectively. In the period in question, Shannon Airport has been losing passengers. It needs Government support. It is not just about supporting the airport but also about supporting the principle of balanced regional development, foreign investment and the capacity of IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to develop new opportunities to protect employment in the region in this very challenging environment.

I appeal to the Minister of State to relay my remarks to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport in the hope that he will heed the views of this House, get his act together and support a vital piece of infrastructure for the mid-west, which is the engine that benefits not only the mid-west but also the entire west.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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On behalf of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, I thank Deputy Dooley for raising this matter today. I pass on the Minister's apologies.

Shannon Airport, established by statute in September 2014, is a strategic business within Shannon Group. It is a commercial state company whose purpose is to promote and facilitate air transport and aviation services in and around Shannon Airport and to optimise the return on its land and property and on its shareholdings in subsidiary companies. Therefore, as a State-owned enterprise with a fully commercial mandate, operational issues in regard to Shannon Airport, in the first instance, are matters for the airport. All of us here today can agree that the statutory role carried out by Shannon Airport is extremely important. This is acknowledged in the national aviation policy, NAP, which recognises the strategic importance of Shannon for connectivity for the mid-west region and as a gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way.

Since Shannon Airport's separation from the DAA in 2012, it has seen passenger numbers increase by 34%. That is a significant increase in seven years. As recently reported in the group's annual report for 2018, the airport has been the fastest growing outside Dublin, and it enjoyed its sixth consecutive year of growth. Indeed, 2018 saw an increase of 6.5%, or 113,000 passengers, over 2017, growth attributable to, for example, new services to Barcelona, Bristol and Liverpool, through Ryanair, and growth in transatlantic traffic, which increased by 7% to 427,000 passengers, with Shannon operating its highest number of transatlantic routes in nine years during 2018.

The Deputy is correct in pointing out that the company had been forecasting growth of about 5% in passenger numbers for 2019. That has not transpired. So far, we have seen a loss but there are a number of factors. The volatility of the global aviation market has been felt this year by airports around the world, including Shannon Airport, due a combination of issues, including an increase in geopolitical risks and unstable oil prices, as well as the ongoing grounding of the Boeing 737 Max. This has affected greatly a number of services that were operating or due to resume or commence operations from Shannon Airport in 2019. This has impacted passenger numbers at the airport. While these matters are totally outside the control of the company, I am aware that it is working hard to deal with the fallout and put in place alternative services at the earliest opportunity. The Minister's Department is working with the airport to explore what marketing supports might be available to assist this work.

It is important, however, to point out that decisions by airlines on the routes and services they provide are commercial matters in which the Minister has no function. Under Project 2040, Shannon Group, through its subsidiaries, which include Shannon Airport, has plans to invest in excess of €150 million in its capital programme over the period to 2022.

This includes a significant investment in the construction of a wide-body aeroplane hangar. This will be the first such hangar constructed at an Irish airport in over 20 years and represents the kind of expansion that was envisaged in order to grow a globally recognised and internationally competitive aviation industry cluster in and around the airport campus. The reputation of the International Aviation Services Centre, IASC, was boosted in 2018 when it was appointed as the first Irish member of the European Aerospace Cluster Partnership, an EU-funded association that brings together the principal aerospace industry clusters in Europe.

Shannon Airport provides essential strategic transport infrastructure, as has been pointed out, and services to airport users and the wider community in and around Shannon and to many of those who are transiting through. In a small country such as ours, it is important, if not vital, that Shannon Airport continues to exploit opportunities that benefit all citizens which support both the local economy and that of the State. It is also vital that the stakeholders in the region support the airport in order to optimise opportunities for growing services and to ensure their viability by using them. The Minister supports all endeavours of the group to ensure that the prosperity of Shannon Airport is in line with Government policy.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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An effort has been made by the Government to suggest that the airport has done really well in the past couple of years. This has been done by means of a comparison involving the use of passenger numbers from 2012, when the economic crisis was at its height and when passenger numbers were down at all airports. Every other airport in the State has experienced a considerably higher level of growth in passenger numbers than Shannon Airport. There has been major growth in the economy and in passenger and tourism numbers in the interim period but, regardless of which metric one uses to measure these things, it is obvious that Shannon Airport has fallen significantly behind. It is time for the Minister and his Department to look at the regime in Shannon. Two chief executives have come and gone during the period to which I refer. There is a need for a significant change in leadership and that is something the Minister and his Department need to address. It is not good enough to just suggest that the airport has been given its independence and is now on its own.

I questioned the capacity of an independent entity to survive against the threat of competition from Dublin Airport when all of this was first proposed. I do not want this to be a case of me saying "I told you so". What I predicted at the time has now come to pass. We cannot give up on Shannon. It is not good enough for any of us to state that I predicted this; it is about what we can do now in the situation we find ourselves. There is a need for significant intervention on the part of the State. If the Minister and the Department are prepared to look at route support, marketing funds or whatever assistance is available, then let us see that. Unfortunately, the €20 million from the airport's resources that has to be invested in safety measures could have been much better used in supporting its continued growth at, hopefully, a better level and to get it to the point of viability.

The Taoiseach is on record as stating that a facility like Shannon Airport would only be viable if throughput there reached 3 million passengers. The target for this year was 2.5 million but we will scarcely reach 1.6 million or 1.7 million. We need the support of the Minister, the Department and the Government. There is a willing and capable workforce at the airport, the members of which are prepared to do whatever is necessary to make it viable, but the support of Government is required. I ask the Minister of State to channel my concerns back to the Minister at the earliest possible opportunity.

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I do not doubt that there are committed staff at the airport who are working hard and who, like the Government, want to ensure its viability. As the Deputy indicated, the separation from the DAA in 2012 was not forced but it has brought about significant challenges and, in particular, competition, not just with Dublin Airport but also with the smaller regional airports. Given its size, Shannon does not receive the same funding as the smaller airports but it does receive support and funding in other ways. Tourism Ireland strongly promotes Shannon Airport as an access point, particularly to the Wild Atlantic Way, but for other locations as well. A large amount of funding has been given to Tourism Ireland to ensure that it is part of that overall strategic plan and agenda.

There are challenges with Brexit, as the Deputy rightly outlined. The Department and the Government are acutely aware of these challenges, including those relating to a no-deal Brexit. Shannon Airport provides a European hub connectivity. Much of this is via London and Heathrow and there would be implications for it in a no-deal scenario. We are working with the European Commission on this. Contingency plans for a no-deal scenario in order to ensure that traffic through the various hubs in the UK will not be brought to a complete standstill. Obviously, this will underpin activities at Shannon Airport as well. As I have outlined, there had been an anticipation that passenger numbers would increase this year. This has not happened for a number of reasons. If one looks at the figures up to this year, however, there has been significant growth, not just in passenger numbers but also in the number of flights. This is not a matter in respect of which the Minister can intervene by increasing the number of flights but his team and his Department officials can work with Shannon Airport to ensure that the airport can avail of whatever opportunities exist and that Tourism Ireland and other national bodies are supporting it and making sure that the airport is part of their overall plan to promote Ireland.

I will see to it that the Minister is made aware of the Deputy's specific concerns.