James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While I share strong views on the banks, I do not believe there is a need for unparliamentary language, as the previous speaker has used just to get himself a headline.

Today I raise the important issue of Dublin Airport. There are 12,500 people employed there directly and it is estimated another nine jobs are created indirectly for each job at Dublin Airport. In 2010, there were 18 million visitors through that airport and this year we expect 30 million. That is a reflection on the management of the economy and the great work by Tourism Ireland, IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in attracting people, companies and tourists to this country. A lot of this was very much supported by the Fine Gael-led Government that was shared with the Labour Party.

My question to the Leader is the following. Could he please get the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport into the House so that he can outline his plans for the future transport and international transport arrangements in this country? We had been told that the civil aviation authority was the appropriate authority to deal with noise levels and adjudicate on them. We are now told that is no longer the case. The people of north Dublin, the local residents, need clarity on how this will be adjudicated on and the airport and the DAA need clarity because there is a huge ongoing programme there in the building of a new runway which is essential to the well-being of the airport and future development and jobs in the area and for the country. The current planning permission which is under appeal would reduce the number of passengers by 3 million if it were to be adhered to. This is an urgent matter, and one which the Minister needs to come into the House and address.