Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

With respect, I listened to the Senator. One should not expect an airport to be a haven of tranquility. I urge the Minister to examine Baldonnel. The Tánaiste made me aware of her point of view, and rightly so, and we did not proceed with the proposal. At the moment she has very strong views on aviation. Perhaps she has changed her mind about Baldonnel and may be keen to use it as an ancillary airport, which I would welcome.

What I do not like about the legislation is that I cannot find the imperative or reason for it. Neither the Minister's speech nor anything I have heard him say, gives me any direction as to why we should be compelled to pass the Bill eight or nine months before the business plans are in place. Who or what body is supplying the imperative, apart from the hunch, about which the Minister spoke? I do not think a hunch is an imperative. I worry that there are people in the shadows, of whom we are not aware, who are providing the background and environment in which the "crowds" and "disaster" at Dublin Airport can be couched. I can find no imperative for the premature or rushed nature of the Bill. I cannot find who or what is behind it. My fear is — I do not say this in anger, despair, in shouting or excited tones — that as the Government can no longer subsidise Shannon Airport, it will fall prey to other forces which would seek to use it for their commercial ends. Given that I have been in Government for years, I am sure the Minister will agree that I am fully entitled to have my say, based on the knowledge that I will vote for a Government Bill — I am not as foolish as some of the people Senator Browne mentioned. Neither am I prepared to be coy about the issue.

The Bill is supposed to do much for the cause of aviation competition. If I am to travel from Dublin Airport, I will not go to Shannon Airport, and I certainly will not go to Cork Airport. I do not see where the competition issue arises. We are a very small country and the idea that competition would arise and be dynamic between the three airports is a paltry excuse for putting forward the Bill. Shannon Airport has benefited the whole region. Whatever business plan is put forward will not pass muster with the Minister for Finance — we all hope it will be the current Minister — unless it is proved there will be no subsidy from the Dublin umbrella to help Shannon Airport.

Will the Minister tell us when he is replying the reason for the rush? What are the forces propelling this legislation? Who are the people pushing this legislation beyond the idea of a hunch? Perhaps one of the voices is one that we have thankfully not heard recently, to our great benefit — we all know who I mean. Perhaps that should be explained more thoroughly by the Minister.

Following my five years as Minister for Public Enterprise, I pay tribute, as did my colleagues, Senators Daly and Dooley, to the employees and the management at Dublin Airport. One man who has held the helm for ten years — he holds it until the end of September — is Noel Hanlon, Chairman of the Aer Rianta board. I do not know whether this is true, because I have not talked to him for a long time, but people tell me he feels diminished by the way in which he is being treated, not openly, but through comments and innuendo. The man is very wealthy in his own right. The State fee for his position was recently increased — before I left it had gone up to perhaps €25,000 — but he does not need that money. During his years at the VHI and Aer Rianta, his motivation was not to milk the system but to do good. There are many chairmen of State boards who have their own cars and drivers, but he never sought these and he never got them. We should pay tribute to him and to the other fine members of the board, who also feel slighted and diminished because of lack of consultation.

I have made clear what I think about the Bill. Autonomy for the regions is an excellent aim, but we should be able to give business people in Shannon or Cork the ability to attract a new airline or do away with another without the elaborate structure that is being set up, the reason for which I do not know. I hope my worries and fears will not bear fruit come next year. However, I have great faith in Ministers for Finance. They love saying "No" — it is their pet word. I have confidence that Deputy McCreevy and his successor as Minister, and their advisers in the Department of Finance, will say when next April comes: "That is fine, but you are going no further."