Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the commitment from the Government that it will have decided on its option from the expert group report by Christmas. That is the type of timeline and clarity we need. Between this and then, I would appeal for cool heads on this issue to give the Minister and the Cabinet the time to make the correct recommendation and to go with the correct option.

I request a debate on Shannon Airport at some stage in the near future. The Cabinet discussed the issue of the break-up of Shannon Airport from the Dublin Airport Authority and the amalgamation of Shannon Airport with Shannon Development which will happen in the new year. Unfortunately, there has been a slight delay with the announcement of the detail on this issue because there are a couple of small matters that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, needs to clarify. I understand that this delay will be a matter of days as opposed to weeks.

I commend the Minister. He is in government 18 months and we now have a firm commitment and clarity on the future of Shannon Airport which is so vital, not only for County Clare but for the mid-west and western regions. For decades it has been a gateway for millions of tourists from America and all over the world and it has the potential of being a gateway to generate and drive, not only tourism development in the west but, with the new entity of Shannon Development combined with it, industrial and economic development and job creation. It is a novel move by the Minister. This agency will have a specific brief to attract aviation industries. Shannon has been synonymous over the years with aviation-related industries and a new emphasis in that area must be welcomed. I also welcome the fact that there are memoranda of understanding already signed with a myriad of companies that will, in the next couple of years, result in 12,000 new jobs for the Shannon region. It is a good news story. It certainly warrants debate in this House in due course.