Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to highlight a good news story by welcoming the announcement at the weekend by the US Department of Transportation that it will grant a foreign licence to Norwegian Air, thereby facilitating the development of a route from Shannon and Cork to the east coast of the US. I also welcome the 30 jobs announced this morning announced by Acacia Communications in Limerick. The company is from Maynard, Massachusetts, and in the announcement it was indicated that infrastructure and links were very relevant. It is most important for us to consider our airports in terms of job creation. This company is a provider of high-speed coherent optical interconnecting products and the headquarters will be in Limerick. It was most enlightening to hear the chief executive officer welcoming the links and the fact they can get here through Shannon Airport to Limerick, where the company will have its European headquarters. It is very important for us to create many links between different countries and our airports in order to benefit job creation.