Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I rise to commend Shannon Airport, from which Norwegian Airlines will operate a daily service to Stewart International Airport in New York. Shannon Airport now has six airlines which fly to seven destinations in America. We regularly hear about Dublin Airport being over-capacity and not having enough room, whereas Shannon airport has excess capacity. We are a small nation. Our network is very good and when the M20 is built it will be even better. People will be able to travel to Shannon to fly abroad. I ask that we invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, to come to the House to have a wide-ranging debate about using our resources in the best way possible. People go to Dublin Airport on buses straight from Limerick, while we have a local airport capable of a much greater capacity. We should look at ways to encourage people from Dublin and other regions to use services in Shannon. Perhaps something needs to be done in Government policy because Shannon Airport is now independent. It is not a matter of funding; it is about policy. Dublin Airport is discussing building another runway. We forget how small an island we are. I ask that we invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to come to the House and we can have a structured debate.Senator Norris made reference to what the Seanad can do. These are the type of debates I would like to see. It pertains to policy. Being a former Member of the Dáil, I find the big difference is that issues are debated at length here. The Senator was speaking about Seanad reform. One area in which one could do that is to consider ways whereby a certain share of Bills would start in this House. We may have differing views but we saw how the alcohol Bill was debated here in great depth. These are the areas.

The Leader should ask the Minister, Deputy Ross, to come in before the House. We could double the capacity in Shannon Airport. Why do we not look at it in terms of balanced regional development? At the same time, we are speaking about building another runway in Dublin and I question whether it makes economic sense for the State.