Results 6,221-6,240 of 11,242 for speaker:Noel Dempsey

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: ——where construction has been brought forward by three years to 2008. It includes construction of the Limerick tunnel, the upgrading work on the roads linking Limerick——

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: ——with Nenagh, Cork and Adare and many other projects, the evidence of which is seen by the Deputies opposite, very much to their annoyance. Last year the Government approved funding of approximately €100 million for the development of the first phase of the western rail corridor from Ennis to Athenry with a view to completing that project in 2008.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: Funding in principle has also been approved for phase two——

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: ——of the corridor between Athenry and Tuam for completion by 2011.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: That is only in my own area of responsibility and that surely proves, even to the slowest learners on the far side of the House, that this Government is not neglecting the west or the Shannon.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I commend the motion to the House.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: It happened through Fine Gael's own stupidity.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The Deputy wants to take it away from Cork.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: No, but I would say that the Deputy's colleague who claimed that 100,000 jobs would be lost was exaggerating.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I move: That Dáil Éireann: —shares the Government's deep disappointment at the Aer Lingus decision to end the Shannon-London Heathrow service; —agrees with Government that this decision is contrary to Government regional and aviation policy; —recognises the importance of the international connectivity of Shannon airport as a means of facilitating the wider region to develop further...

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: It was evident in the first week of this controversy, from the statements made publicly, that Aer Lingus was set on a course from which it would not deviate. That is certainly the response I got from the company. I investigated the possibility of the State acquiring Heathrow slots to replace the Aer Lingus service. I was informed that this was not legally possible. It is not open to the...

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The question has been raised more than once as to why the Government, as a shareholder, is not intervening directly in the running of Aer Lingus and either calling for or supporting the call for an EGM. Neither I nor the Government contemplated supporting a call for an EGM from Aer Lingus's main competitor, to have this decision reversed.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: It was quite clear from the outset that the attempt to call an EGM had more to do with commercial rivalry than a concern for Shannon or the mid-west.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I am delighted to hear the Labour Party being so supportive of Ryanair for a change.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: Even the ESOT refused to contemplate supporting such a move. I accept, arising from that decision, that it is legitimate to raise two questions: first, why does the Government retain its 25% stake if it is not prepared to use it to "protect" these slots and, second, why did the Government privatise Aer Lingus and was privatisation wrong? These are legitimate questions. I will take each in...

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: Regarding the second question on the IPO, it is nonsense to suggest that the Government should not have privatised the company. If that decision was not taken by Government, I have no doubt that in two or three years this House would be debating the survival of Aer Lingus in a globalised and increasingly competitive aviation market.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The fundamental purpose for which the IPO was undertaken was to create a commercially independent Aer Lingus with access to the capital markets, which would serve the Irish economy more effectively than an Aer Lingus in ongoing State ownership and subject to the constraints of state aid rules.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: We see the positive results of this decision with new services being developed. In particular, there has been a major expansion of transatlantic services and during the coming winter season, the company will serve seven cities in the US, compared with four previously. The IPO also made it possible to raise new equity to support the future payment of pension increases, which the Labour Party...

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: ——should be examined.

Shannon Airport: Motion (27 Sep 2007)

Noel Dempsey: To do this, a cross-departmental team of senior officials was tasked with assessing the actual implications of the decision in terms of connectivity and to make recommendations in this wider context. The senior officials group looked at the implications of the decision from a connectivity, business and tourism point of view. The senior officials group concluded that the withdrawal of the...