Results 1,661-1,680 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: If the Minister was not so disruptive, I would address the air transport issue. I welcome the opportunity to address this transport agreement. Unfortunately, the Labour Party does not have a Deputy in Clare but this issue affects Limerick East and the entire mid-west region. Platitudes from the Minister are no good to the region. We need constructive action. We cannot stop the open skies...

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: I refer to the two areas in which the Minister gave commitments which he has not yet fulfilled. There was meant to be a reasonable transitional period during which Shannon could adjust to the new regime. The time period allotted is only one year. The Minister signed the agreement in March and the one in three provision will only last for one year, from March 2007 to March 2008. We will...

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: I do not know how well the Minister knows the mid-west, but the strength of the area has been built up around Shannon Airport over a long time. We have been innovative, constructive, flexible and co-operative and have shown the rest of the country how to behave as a region. Shannon was a region when no other area even knew what being a region was about. Now the Minister is just pulling the...

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Minister has not done all that. Deputy Pat Breen expressed his scepticism in regard to Aer Lingus's commitment to Shannon Airport. The Minister stated that at the time he negotiated the transitional arrangement relating to Shannon, he sought and obtained assurances from Aer Lingus that in the context of a level playing field between the airline and its competitors, it would maintain the...

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: This is all about the Pale and the Dublin region. There is no concern in the Minister's attitude or in his speech about the needs of the mid-west region——

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: I hate to interrupt my future Government colleagues in Fine Gael but I wish to continue my contribution. I want to ask the Minister about the rail link for Shannon and the feasibility study. According to a written reply to a question I tabled two months ago on 20 February 2007, the Minister stated that a steering group was established which included a wide range of local interests. He...

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Minister could have asked for the report and shown a bit of interest.

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: Is it because there is no money in Transport 21 for such a rail link that the Minister has not been too concerned about speeding it up? We need a rail link for Shannon Airport and the proper infrastructural connections.

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Minister is building a big rail link out to Dublin Airport——

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: We need one for Shannon Airport as well.

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: Motorways are not the answer. A motorway will not be much use to a tourist flying in from the USA who is not hiring a car and who wants to get to a destination in Deputy Deenihan's constituency or my constituency or the constituency of most of the other Members here tonight. A rail link to the airport is needed for those who do not have their own motorised transport. The Limerick — Ennis...

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: ——-and I have no reason to believe the rail link feasibility study would not make a positive recommendation for the region even though I do not know its contents.

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: I do not note any huge urgency in his tone and in his manner——

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: I attended a meeting with the Minister in his Department when he agreed to have a feasibility study for which I thank him. However, a feasibility study will not carry passengers so we need more than a feasibility study. We need the Minister to take an interest in the outcome of that study——

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: ——and we need a rail link to Shannon. I am being as fair as I can be. I do not think the Minister is being very fair to——

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: ——the Shannon region. He has let us down in a number of areas and he has not given us——

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: ——-the appropriate lead-in time in regard to the open skies agreement that everybody in the region was expecting. We were expecting to get at least two years if not three or more years but we are only getting one year. We were expecting to have the economic and tourism development plan in place well before open skies would come into effect so that the support structures for the region,...

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: If we can get good announcements from the Minister when he comes down I will be the first to welcome them but from his attitude here tonight I do not see that he is taking seriously the concerns expressed by Deputy Deenihan that we could lose 100,000 transatlantic tourists as estimated by the Shannon marketing body. That body wants to market Shannon but we need the support of Government to...

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: It was once said that only the rabbits would run around Rineanna but it has turned out to be very different because of the commitment, the flexibility and the innovative approach in the region. We want to work with the Minister but we want to see some kind of commitment from him to show he is serious about developing the strengths of the region. I hope the fact he has two Government...

Air Transport Agreement: Motion (24 Apr 2007)

Jan O'Sullivan: There are millions of Americans with Irish connections who want to come here on holidays.