Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

Last week we discussed the Aer Lingus Bill 2003. The mid-west region has a very close affinity with air navigation. First, there were the flying boats that flew out of Foynes, from where I come. There is a very good aviation museum in Foynes which commemorates that important era in our navigational past. Subsequently, we became very familiar with the successes at Shannon and at the air navigation control centre in Ballygireen just outside Shannon.

I recognise that the whole objective of this Bill is to achieve harmonisation in respect of different airlines in the context of insurance and so on. That is desirable. This legislation has many inherently good values in terms of people being able to take the legal part of their case within their own country. I understand that much of this is the result of the events of 11 September 2001 and concern about terrorism. When the Montreal Convention came into operation, 50 OECD countries automatically signed up to it. The events of 11 September changed the operation of the whole airline area, especially regarding security, and various restrictions have been introduced, particularly in the United States. Perhaps the Minister would comment on why it took until November 2002 for the US to sign up to the Montreal Convention when other countries enthusiastically embraced it.

Senator McDowell referred to the important point of how one copes in a ticketless situation. What verification is there, and how can one prove one's case, if there are no tickets? In page 15 of the Bill, Article 22(5) of the charter, as amended, states:

The sums mentioned in francs in this Article shall be deemed to refer to a currency unit consisting of sixty-five and a half milligrammes of gold of millesimal fineness nine hundred. These sums may be converted into national currencies in round figures.

Perhaps the Minister would clarify what that means. What are the guidelines for converting something so vague into round figures if the currency referred to is gold in all cases? What is meant by the word "millesimal"? I am usually good on vocabulary, but I have never heard of that word. The Minister's officials will probably be able to clarify it.

I will not belabour points already made. From our point of view the Bill contains nothing contentious. It is important to have it enacted by 1 May deadline. If it is not ratified and in operation in all the European countries there will be inherent difficulties when the ten accession countries join as the issue of having it ratified could linger for a long time. The Minister will have the co-operation of both Houses in ensuring its ratification during the Irish Presidency. Far be it from me to try to embarrass the Government, but it will be extremely embarrassing if we have not ratified it by 1 May when the other EU countries are moving on it.

I join Senator Wilson in congratulating Aer Lingus on its revenue success and on how it has been turned around as a company. It has had to confront many serious worldwide incidents since the 11 September attacks, including the SARS and foot and mouth disease outbreaks. Aer Lingus has been a very successful carrier in recent times. It has learned much from Ryanair's "no frills" approach, which has been adopted on many of its continental routes in recent times. Passengers no longer get the privilege of a cup of tea. However, the consumer is the person who dictates, and if the consumer is happy with the price and is prepared to put up with not having extra concessions, Aer Lingus was probably right in taking the direction it has.

That does not allay the concerns of the mid-west region regarding what is happening in Shannon. I elaborated on it in last week's debate on the Aer Lingus Bill and will not repeat what I said then. However, if more than 100 redundancies are being sought and 28 cabin crew are required to transfer to Dublin, that is very hard to reconcile with the fact that the airline has been successfully turning over significant revenue in the past three years and €78 million in the current year. One might play the devil's advocate and say that if we want to return greater revenues next year rationalisation is necessary. However, it is important to bear in mind that decentralisation, an issue that raised the rafters at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis over the weekend, will probably be a lifeline for many communities around the country because the type of employment it will bring is regarded as long-term and stable. Nevertheless, it might be seen as contradictory to speak of decentralising Government Departments and agencies to 25 different counties if, so far, only four people in Enterprise Ireland have volunteered to transfer to Shannon. Decentralisation, if it happens, will probably create an extra 200 jobs, but alongside that will be a reduction of 100 jobs in Aer Lingus and Shannon and the dislocation of many families, in addition to which Aer Rianta will have to make adjustments in terms of many of its staff.

The high degree of uncertainty in the mid-west region is compounded by the lengthy failure to appoint a board of directors at Aer Rianta. A board of directors has recently been appointed for Dublin, but there is uncertainty in the mid-west region about what the directors of Aer Rianta will be doing and what kind of business plan they will operate regarding the future of Shannon. It is time this uncertainty was resolved.

Despite the revenues and strong performance of Aer Lingus, I am extremely concerned about what is evolving in Shannon and the type of rationalisation taking place. If we are to be true to the whole decentralisation concept, Shannon was a classic example of decentralisation operating very effectively because it involved an airport entity which has been in existence since the late 1940s. It was a crucial issue a few years ago when two Government Deputies resigned because of changes in the Shannon area. Subsequently both returned to the fold and one was successful and became a Minister. It is time we saw a clamour from the many Fianna Fáil members in Clare about what is happening in the Clare area. It is far more serious than the issue over which people took a classic stance a few years ago when a policy decision was taken by the Government which would impact on Shannon in the long term. What is happening now is very worrying. I would like to see much more leadership on the other side in highlighting it and perhaps taking firm stances on it in the future.

To return to the Air Navigation and Transport (International Conventions) Bill——