Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I welcome the Minister for Transport to the House. I recognise that his is a difficult portfolio as the issue of airports is so political and local that it raises the hackles of many. However, it is fair to say that we were sold a pup in this regard. When the legislation was going through the Houses I asked for clarification on two areas. I asked for clarification that the then CEO of the airport authority would be unaffected by the change, but this turned out to not be the case and we saw the back of her shortly afterwards. Senator Dooley sought the same assurance in that regard. I also raised the matter of the commitment to debt free status. I did not have a difficulty with the break up provided it was done along the lines suggested at the time, but I asked for the debt issue to be clarified and I left the debate with the clear impression that both Shannon and Cork airports would start off debt free under the new regime. The debt is a desperate manacle to place on them. It is unfortunate and bad for politics.

When the break up was discussed here there was an element of political manoeuvring and politicking on the issues. There was genuine interest in discovering what would work and be best for each locality, particularly from those of us from the areas involved, including the Minister who has shown special interest in Waterford Regional Airport over the years. The issue for Munster is that the airports at Shannon, Cork, and to a lesser extent Kerry and Waterford, have something to offer. I did not object to the various interests or take on those arguments.

When, for example, people from the Shannon area came here to lobby four or five years ago many said they would get nowhere because the issue then was all about the Shannon stopover. I met them and advised them to forget what had been said so far and go to the Minister and tell him they were prepared to sign off on becoming independent and ending the stopover etc., on the day he opened the rail head into Shannon. I felt that once they got the rail head into Shannon, it would have opened up the freight area. Shannon would have been the only airport in the country with a rail link and this would have provided significant possibilities. The Ennis-Limerick line was only three miles away and people were open to that kind of thinking at the time. Now Shannon has been left out on a limb, although it is in a better position than Cork, which appears to be left with a huge burden of debt.

Cork Airport should not be left in this position and no fair-minded person would agree it is a fair start. Cork Airport did not hit the ground running like Shannon, which got extra flights from Ryanair. At the same time, however, Cork Airport is building up business and next week is announcing new weekly flights to Hungary, Vienna and similar places. The airport is beginning to build links and the new facilities there will open soon. Nobody would disagree that we should give Cork Airport the fair start it expected. If the Department of Finance is not prepared to cough up in this regard, it should be exposed. Nobody will object to Cork getting a free run on this.

The debate on privatisation versus nationalisation and keeping facilities in safe hands is another issue. The country has gone beyond this. People want a good service that gives taxpayers good value. There is no problem in introducing competitive elements, but neither is there anything wrong with a company being owned by the State if it works well, and this is my view on Aer Lingus. There is nothing wrong either in considering privatisation if it is in everybody's best interest. I had doubts about the break up of the airports and I expressed them at the time. Now that it has happened let us make it work and give the individual airports a good chance.

Let us show people that we can have trust and confidence in recommendations such as these. In other words, if the Minister wants to sell the idea of the privatisation of Aer Lingus later in the year — on which I will argue against him — he will want people to have trust and confidence in what he will have to say. As matters stand, if he stands up on the issue, we will think that the last time we had a discussion on the airports we were sold a pup. We walked out of the debate with a different understanding of what was going to happen. It is important that we have trust and confidence in what we are told before we argue over crossing the t's and dotting the i's.

What needs to be done? We need investment in these airports. Currently they are not being marketed. The authorities are working hard at getting additional routes, which is crucial, but they are not marketing them. I use Cork and Shannon airports. I used Shannon Airport three times within the past six months and find it a great airport as it is so easy to get through. This is attractive to passengers. People from as far north as Mayo, who would be almost equidistant from Dublin and Shannon, now prefer to get to where they want to go from Shannon. Some people in the south west only consider holiday destinations they can reach through Cork or Shannon.

There is a surge of support for these airports and there are significant possibilities that can be made work. Tourism bodies should be more closely linked with airport authorities but this is not happening. It happens in places such as Knock, which enjoys a significant number of flights. The importance of these regional airports is not marketed. In fact, the description of these international airports as "regional" should be dropped. They provide a service to many destinations.

Although I am a critic of Mr. Michael O'Leary, at least he pays his taxes in this country and he has a sense of humour.