Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment. While I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy White, I am sorry that the Minister of State who made the opening speech is no longer present. I have major concerns about this matter. It is not that Shannon Airport does not have strategic importance for the west of Ireland or Ireland generally - of course there is and we support giving assistance to it. However, the Government did not follow the recommendations in the Booz and Company report. Even though the Minister of State, Deputy Kelly, said the Government had acted in line with the Booz and Company recommendations, it selectively cherry-picked some and not others. There is no strategic aviation policy in Ireland. The Booz and Company report recommends that before taking action in terms of separation and deciding on subsidising etc., it should define Ireland's aviation policy, which has not been done. While I am not against Knock or the processes that have been put in place, on a personal level - as opposed to the party - I will be making a direct complaint to Commissioner Almunia in the context of state aid.

Referring to the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, The Irish Times on 31 March reports him as stating:

If nothing was done for Shannon the airport stood in danger of being passed out by Knock airport in passenger numbers, despite a current gap of over 900,000 passengers. I think if the trends continue as they are it will happen because Shannon?s numbers are already down 20 per cent this year and Knock is still growing. It is only a matter of time without a change in policy.

According to The Clare Champion, the Minister also stated:

Shannon has less passengers now than it had back in 1997, for example. In that same period, Knock has increased its passenger numbers by 350%. Even though both airports operate in the same economy in the same country, the trend in Shannon is down and the trend in Knock is up.

In the first quote, the Minister implies clearly that we must change Government policy to facilitate Shannon at the expense of Knock. That was not necessary. It is for those reasons that I intend to raise with the European Commission the effective write-down of ¤100 million in debt and the stripping out of the assets of Shannon Development, giving the good ones to the airport with a rent-roll and giving the rest, I am reasonably reliably informed, at a cost of some ¤12 million, to IDA Ireland. That ¤12 million goes onto the balance sheet of Shannon Airport. Shannon not only would have ¤100 million written off, but ¤12 million in cash plus a rent-roll. In the meantime, there is the cost to the State of 700,000 passengers a year in Knock, which is, effectively, the gateway to the entire north west region. Sadly, this is trend in Government policy where north of that Dublin-Galway line and west of Mullingar, whether one is a farmer, a business or whatever, it does matter. The Minister is now rigging the situation. The Government is effectively manipulating a situation which will guarantee the demise of Knock airport and its potential to act as an economic driver for the region and contribute to national recovery, in favour of Shannon, and that is fundamentally wrong.