Results 5,681-5,700 of 26,021 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: We have finished with the committee members. I will go to Deputy McNamara in a moment. It is a five-year term, which I welcome. The role of a board is to make strategic decisions about the way the group evolves, which are then implemented by management. Management does a very good job on that. We have to be honest here. There would be a perception that over the last number of years, pre...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: That would be the perception.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: We are talking about an honest dialogue. We need to understand.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: I think the point Senator Dooley was making was about the strategic direction from the board. He was not in any way making any comment on management. They implement the strategic direction as set out by the board. That is the role of a board.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: We accept that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: When does Mr. Henry see us getting back to the pre-pandemic figure of 1.7 million?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Are we talking within the next two years?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Mr. Henry believes that can be done within the existing national aviation policy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: The routes that were there pre-pandemic are back, in the main.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Shannon needs to link up with Cork, Galway and Limerick with a bus service. There is also the matter of establishing European hub connectivity, which is in the Copenhagen report. How important is that to Shannon? How realistic is it to get to that point? There is a Brexit adjustment fund available and we have had discussions about applying for that fund. I ask Mr. Henry to deal with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Through Heathrow.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is an active policy function and policy objective and is being actively worked on by Shannon Airport board and management.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Great. Our only interest is the region. I am based in Limerick city so I know how important Shannon Airport is. We are all working in the same field. Before I conclude, I will address a more local issue. I wish Mr. Henry well. He has our full support. We will be writing to the Minister to let him know we met with Mr. Henry. How realistic does he believe it is to have a rail link...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Deputy mentioned hubs. Is that European hubs?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: I have one quick question. The passenger numbers at Shannon and Cork did not actually go down but went up over the period. The numbers at Dublin went up exponentially, however. Mr. Henry has a background in aviation. It is not a question of passenger numbers at Shannon not increasing because they did. However, they did not increase exponentially. I believe it is the same case for Cork...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Is that not about engaging with the airlines?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is a question of critical mass.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Does Mr. Henry believe at this stage that Shannon can do it on its own? Will it require, as has happened in Holland, some method of looking at a more strategic distribution of passengers across the island? I refer, in particular, to our own jurisdiction, but it would probably involve all of the island. Is that what we are looking at? Can Shannon do it on its own?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: Does Mr. Henry believe that, in the absence of a national aviation policy, there is a ceiling or limit?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Shannon Group: Chairperson Designate (25 May 2022)

Kieran O'Donnell: What will not get fixed?