Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the contribution of my colleague, Senator Kieran O'Donnell, regarding where we are going with a national strategy on connectivity. He mentioned the issue of Norwegian Airlines cutting the winter flights. The airline has done that in Cork as well. The winter flights from Cork and Shannon are not happening this season. That has a major knock-on effect for both the tourism sector and the self-confidence of the region. It is important to have this debate about regional development, what we will do with Project Ireland 2040 and how we will develop the country. If we are to develop Dublin Airport to its full potential and put a second runway in there, we must ensure that the other airports are protected. We have a motorway journey from Cork to Dublin of two hours with buses going on the hour, if not on the half-hour. That connectivity is there. What we need is a connectivity to ensure that the airlines will work appropriately and will come into these regions, whether it is Shannon or Cork, in order that the tourism sector and the business sector in particular in those areas can flourish.

We find in Cork that the lack of connectivity to the United States for the business sector is a big issue. They want to be hitting the US mainland directly from Cork. What they do not want is to be obliged to go to Dublin and then get a flight out because that is not how they want to spend their day. The big pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical plants in Cork are huge operations and need that connectivity to their American bases. A debate with the Minister is important because unless we model and change Government policy on these issues, Dublin Airport will develop into a monster and the two other regional airports that have an international focus, Shannon and Cork, may not achieve their full potential. Shannon has an advantage over Cork because it has independent status. Perhaps we should consider re-opening that debate in Cork because if we had independent status, we might be able to have a bigger slice of the cake we need to deliver both Project Ireland 2040 as a national plan and the regional development this country badly requires.