Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State and compliment him on bringing the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Bill 2005 before this House. I commend him on his presentation of the Bill which will receive the full support of the House, because it is of vital importance. We have a proud record on air navigation and the work carried out by his officials is effective. They provide a wonderful service.

I will outline developments at the former Knock Airport, now called Ireland West Airport, Knock, having been rebranded last Monday. The first flight landed at and took off from the airport 20 years ago, with Rome its destination. It was a historic occasion which I wish to put on record in this House. May 2006 will be the 20th anniversary of the official opening of Knock Airport by the then Taoiseach Mr. Charles J. Haughey. A combination of the leadership of Mr. Haughey and Monsignor James Horan brought about one of the greatest infrastructural developments in the west of Ireland and indeed the country.

The fact that we have an international airport of the standard and quality of Ireland West Airport, Knock, has contributed enormously to the economy of the west. Some 500,000 passengers are now recorded annually, which is a marvellous achievement in such a short time. Projections for the future are substantial. At present, users of the airport contribute an inbound tourism spend in the region of €7.1 million. There was a direct contribution of €6.5 million by Knock to the GDP of 2004 and a contribution of €30 million from the tourism spend in the region. The Exchequer received €5.4 million in income tax and PRSI and there were 500,000 tourism bed-nights in 2004. Some 110 people are directly employed and 580 jobs are supported in the wider local economy. Those represent impressive progress for the airport.

I ask the Minister of State for further investment in the airport. The management estimates it requires some €22.9 million for navigational aids and ATC, runway and apron upgrades, terminal works, fire and ramp services, baggage and security, catering and retail services, car parks, IT and CCTV cameras. The CAT 11 navigation aid provides the means to land aircraft in lower levels of visibility. It is a navigational aid for the airport itself. Navigation status is not available in the Border, midlands and west region and if the region is to reverse its deficiency in direct airport access then CAT 11 or CAT 111 status in the region is vital. Knock Airport represents the most viable and realistic opportunity to achieve that. The cost of the perimeter fencing and all other requirements will be included in the estimates.

The extension of the apron to the end of the runway, the significance of which the officials present will realise, will also provide additional safety. The apron is part of the aerodrome where aircraft park and passengers disembark. Currently there are two official aircraft parking stands at the airport. The airport currently suffers from acute ramp congestion with scheduled aircraft such as Easyjet regularly having to hold in the air or on the runway as it waits its turn for a stand on the apron. The funding referred to above would provide the airport with four aircraft parking stands. I was in the Minister of State's Department for a short period of nine months around the time when Knock Airport, or Ireland West Airport as it is now known, was being built. I was delegated responsibilities by Mr. John Wilson, who was a Minister at the time, and I concentrated on the post office services.

We are very proud of Ireland West Airport, Knock, a flagship project in the region. A programme on its history was shown a few days ago on television. Some Opposition Members must cringe when they remember the foggy and boggy site.