Tony Mulcahy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to turn this into a positive story, given it relates to my own town and airport, at which I worked in 1975 and 1976. I welcome the Minister, whom I trust. The pension scheme is an issue of concern to many of its members in my area as well but I trust him to deal with the issue when it arises.

This process began in November 2011 to correct the mess that had been made in Shannon Airport over the previous 15 to 20 years. I thank the former Minister, Deputy Varadkar, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and, in particular, Mr. Brian Murphy, in the Minister's office who was a great help. The airport is a key economic driver for the west, not just the Shannon region. Deputy Dooley said we would need a €5 billion bung every year for five years to keep the scheme going. This is not true and the scaremongering must come to an end. The right thing is being done for Shannon Airport. It made a profit of €149,000 last year, despite cleaning up another mess in Shannon Development and getting rid of that agency, which was serving no function. The industrial estate, along with the airport, is beginning to recover. Between 600 and 800 jobs are currently being advertised on the industrial estate and I have no doubt that in seven or eight years there will up to 8,000 jobs available because we have made the right decision.

Shannon will be set free from the clutches of the Dublin Airport Authority and the messing of Fianna Fáil. It is over.