Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Conway's amendment. I agree with Senator McDowell that it is important that the House would debate the regulations and that we also hold people to account.

I join Senator Dooley in calling for a debate next week on the aviation sector. I raised this matter in the House prior to the summer recess and I do so again today conscious that Government is to announce a further suite of measures today. The report of the task force for aviation recovery has been published. We are at a critical juncture for the aviation sector and the airports in Cork and Shannon. This is not about Cork versus Shannon; it is about airports being able to continue to operate. This is critical. If we do nothing else in this House in the next two weeks prior to the budget, we need to have the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, or the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, come into the House to discuss this issue. There are jobs and livelihoods at stake. To put it in context, Ryanair has bases in Cork and Shannon. If they are moved, it will be devastating not only for the people working in the airports but for the offshoot businesses, particularly in Cork.

There are 12,180 people in full-time employment as a consequence of Cork Airport. It generated €904 million for the Irish economy last year. Notwithstanding the sabre-rattling of Ryanair, those of us who met them in Cork saw a chief executive who was not raising a flag but was genuinely giving an opinion and a view, as were the staff accompanying him. I call on the Leader to provide for a debate on this issue in the House next week. We cannot obfuscate any more in regard to our aviation centre.