Results 2,321-2,340 of 9,362 for speaker:Hildegarde Naughton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I am delighted to be with the committee today at a time when our Covid days are, thankfully, behind us and the aviation industry has bounced back faster and stronger than any of us might have anticipated this time last year. As recognised in the current national aviation policy, our three State airports provide essential infrastructure and services to support our economic and social...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: There is a real effort to get this over the line. It is absolutely critical that these heritage sites are transferred to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. As the Deputy is aware, an interdepartmental group was set up and held a considerable number of meetings. Extensive engagement is taking place on this matter. I discussed it as recently as this morning with the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Everything that can be done is being done. I know the Ministers are engaging on this to get it over the line.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Yes, I can. We engage extensively with all our regional airports on improving connectivity. That is part of the reason I opened up the mid-term view of the regional airports programme. The application from Shannon Airport is with the Department. I know members of the committee visited Schiphol Airport with regard to PSOs there. I wish to ensure Shannon Airport and the mid-west grow and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: From the Government's perspective, this transfer is critical for the long-term viability of these heritage sites. I know I sound like I am repeating myself, but a great deal of work has been done and it is ongoing. We know the pressures that exist and I am acutely aware of them, as I know Shannon Airport is. A great deal of work has been done on this matter in the last two years, never...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: All of this input from stakeholders, including from airlines and airports, needs to feed into the mid-term review. The door is open regarding what we need to do to drive more traffic into the regions. That is clear. On PSOs, it is important to state, as the Minister said, that Ireland has always taken a liberal approach to our aviation policy. The EU's single aviation market is fully...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Whether we are talking about Frankfurt Airport or elsewhere, we must work through state aid. The door is open in this regard. This is why it is important to have public consultations to ensure airlines can feed into this process. We often forget this point. Being in the Department of Transport and having responsibility for aviation also means that we sometimes forget the importance of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I have been meeting with senior management in Dublin Airport.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: During that engagement, I emphasised that the excessive delays and queuing times experienced by passengers earlier this summer cannot be repeated. The Department and I are getting updates on that. The evidence I am looking for is the safe movement of passengers through security so they can get their flights, particularly in the run-up to Christmas. Last Saturday and Sunday, 100% of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I agree. I regularly use Shannon Airport. It provides a fantastic service and the staff do incredible work. The passenger numbers at the airport have increased significantly this past year. There are transatlantic flights and extra connectivity through Ryanair. It has grown from strength to strength. It shows the work that has been done. Much of this was on foot of coming out of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I thank Deputy Carey. As I said to colleagues previously, the political will is there to get this transferred as quickly as possible. A great deal of work has been done in the Department of Transport. An interdepartmental group was established with the Department of Transport, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the OPW and the Department for Tourism, Culture, Arts,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: That is my hope.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Absolutely.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: I do not know. The lever is not in the hands of the Department of Transport. We have done a great deal of work to get it to this point. There is a funding issue and a lot of work is happening behind the scenes to get it resolved.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: It is what airports do best. The answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes". This is the feedback we want to get from airports and airlines. There are state aid rules relating to route incentives to airlines. As Deputy Carey knows, state aid is complex. We were able to do this under the Covid supplementary support scheme for Irish airports in 2021. Shannon Airport is a very good example...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Next year. I wanted to start with the regional airports programme.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Yes. To answer the Deputy's question directly, there is a 3 million passenger threshold for other countries in the EU. Again, I ask people to feed into that as part of the mid-term review. Currently, Cork Airport is outside the threshold for this year and next year because it is doing so well. Shannon Airport is doing very well; it is almost at one million passengers. We have to look at...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: Exactly. That is the context in which we need to consider airlines and airports. We need to look at the implication and outcome if the threshold is increased to 3 million passengers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Minister for Transport and Minister of State at the Department of Transport (7 Dec 2022)

Hildegarde Naughton: It is. It would be a policy change here in Ireland if we did that.