Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him on the great work he is doing on transport issues, and on greenways in particular. Some €63 million in funding has been allotted for greenways, and €240 million has been set aside for cycleways and walkways. This will help to change the attitudes of people and how they behave. They will appreciate their areas, and cycling and walking, more, as they go forward. There are so many issues in transport that it is hard to do justice to any of them in the time I have, but I wish to speak on two matters. One is Ireland West Airport Knock. It is crucial for the west and north west of Ireland and connectivity to those areas, as well as for the airlines that operate from it. There is a major crisis for air transport in the country at present. I spoke to some pilots in the last couple of days. They said it took Aer Lingus ten years to go from 40 to 70 aeroplanes and that it will take the airline ten years to go from where it is at present to the position it had 12 months ago. That is significant. The Government will have to do whatever is necessary to maintain connectivity, keep aeroplanes flying and to ensure we have two carriers operating out of this country, from Ireland West Airport Knock, Shannon Airport, Cork Airport and Dublin Airport. This is crucial for our country. We are an island nation and need connectivity. Indeed, we see how the ferry transport sector is growing at present. A Senator spoke earlier about how Rosslare is growing. It is great to see that as well, because it helps our connectivity to Europe.

I welcome the Minister's thoughts on the western rail corridor. It is very important that this rail would be opened for connectivity between Sligo, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. I agree with the Minister that it should be a rail link. If Sligo is to grow to be a city, there must be intercity connectivity with Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Cork and so forth, not only for passengers but also for freight from those regions. They should be able to be connected by rail.

Like previous speakers, including Senator McDowell, I am a fan of hydrogen. This is something that will have to be examined. I cannot see every vehicle in the world being operated by battery only. Hydrogen will have to operate in some shape or form when it is introduced, particularly for heavy vehicles, heavy goods vehicles and machinery. There are problems associated with hydrogen. Hydrogen stored in cars is very dangerous but there is technology available whereby hydrogen can be produced as it is being used, which is much safer. It is an area that should be examined. While I am a fan of hydrogen, I am also a fan of the battery car. As other Senators said, we need to prepare for the autonomous car as well. I mentioned this a number of years ago. What is the Department of Transport doing in preparation for the autonomous car, particularly with regard to traffic lights and so forth? Are they being upgraded and examined so we will not be behind the curve when all this takes place?

I congratulate the Minister on the work he is doing. I believe an EU vaccine passport will be needed in the future. Many of us had to have vaccine passports to travel to various other countries. As one has to take certain vaccines before one can travel to China and other countries, I do not see why we cannot operate a vaccine passport for travelling in the EU over the next couple of years. It is something the Government should be progressing through our partners in Europe. It will affect us more than it will affect any other country in Europe because many of the other countries have good rail and bus services between them, whereas we require air transport. A vaccine passport would be the way forward, in my view.