Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I would welcome a response on the issue because many Members asked why was the legislation rushed through. I would like to know what is behind the challenge thrown down to the Minister this evening. It is one of the aspects about which we are all being kept in the dark. Perhaps he will make available to the public the reports on Cork, Shannon and Dublin, including the report requested by the trade union group in Shannon by Farrell Grant Sparks and others. It is important that all reports are laid before the Houses and available to Members so they can assess them and make judgments on the findings. We are being kept in the dark in regard to these reports and I would like to know why they have not been laid before the House.

As someone from the west, the Minister should realise the importance of Shannon Airport to that region, including from north of Galway, right down to Shannon and south of Limerick. It must be clear to the Minister, who comes from Galway city, that many people are directly dependent on the prosperity of Shannon, whether from a tourism or energy point of view. It is important to remember that major American multinationals have located in the west, primarily because of the access through Shannon. I cannot understand why the Minister is differentiating in the capital contributions he is making available to Shannon, Cork and Dublin. Why is he making available €100 million to Cork and €20 million to Shannon? I do not accept he is talking about the new terminal in Cork, to which he has been referring up to now. That is not the real reason. What will happen as a result of this inequity and total lack of support for Shannon is another regional airport. Shannon will not be an international airport in the future. The downside of what the Minister is presiding over will be regional airport status for Shannon in the future, which will have serious consequences for industrial development in the region.

Regarding tourism, we know American tourists spend on average in the region of €30 to €40 per head as opposed to tourists from the Continent who spend approximately €2.50. The American spend is much greater than the European spend. If the status of Shannon is diminished vis-À-vis tourism in the west, I do not know how the Minister can preside over such consequences. Perhaps it will not be apparent in the near future, but it will be the case eventually. This will have an impact on everyone in the west.

The Minister is aware, as are some of his colleagues in Government, how difficult it is to attract industry to the west outside the major hub centres of Galway, Cork and Limerick. Will he continue to allow things to deteriorate even further? There are several other instances where we have been left in the dark in regard to the Minister's plans, which is why it is important that he states clearly and distinctly the people who are driving him, to whom Senator O'Rourke referred. Now is the time to name them. Senator O'Rourke's final comment was damning. I was in a state of disbelief and shock when I heard it. It was to the effect that the Minister for Finance would have the final say when he said "Thus far and no further." Is the Minister at a point at which he can go no further because his hands are tied? Are we only going through a charade today in continuing the debate on this legislation, which was dealt with in the Dáil last week? Are we doing this as a sop to some individual politician or member of the Government who is pushing it through? Some members of the public think there is a split between the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, and the Tánaiste, Deputy Harney, and that perhaps the Minister for Transport will fall between those two stools. Time will tell.

Along the Shannon estuary as far north as Birr, many people over the years have depended solely on SFADCo to provide support for the growth of small indigenous industries. Now we find that SFADCo is to be subsumed into Enterprise Ireland. The IDA and Enterprise Ireland have failed miserably in many instances to recognise the need to bring industry into the various small regions in that area. Were it not for the tremendous support they received from SFADCo, many of the industries that have been established in places from Birr through Nenagh and into Limerick would not exist. It is a retrograde step for SFADCo to be subsumed into Enterprise Ireland, which is to be based in Shannon under the new Shannon Airport authority.

When the Minister for Transport presides over the demise of Shannon, although he will not have a choice if the Minister for Finance has the final say, and gives disproportionate amounts of development funding to Shannon compared to Cork or Dublin, we will see what are his real intentions. Why is it necessary to replace one authority with three? What difference does it make? There will be job losses in Aer Lingus if privatisation occurs. Will this move lead to the privatisation of Aer Lingus? We do not know; we are in the dark again. Unless the Minister states clearly and unequivocally what his plans are, we will never know.

We hear that the board will have plans in April 2005. If the Minister does not have a guiding policy within Government, how can we expect other bodies and boards to have one? Is it true that one of the current directors of Aer Rianta intends to put an injunction on this legislation if it is passed? He stated last night that he would be negligent in his duty on behalf of the other directors if he did not challenge the legislation. If the Minister can answer these questions, many people will be satisfied. If, however, the Minister intends to preside over the demise of Shannon, as set out in the legislation, the whole west coast from Galway to Limerick will suffer. That is not good enough.