Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have a few minutes to say a few words on this important topic. I welcome the Minister of State and wish her the very best of luck with her portfolio.

In the previous debate we spoke about airports and travel. I congratulate the staff of Knock international airport, Ireland West Airport Knock, including the chairman, Mr. Arthur French, the former chairman, Mr. Joe Kennedy, and the manager, Mr. Joe Gilmore, on the great work they are doing. The funding given to the airport over the past number of months is very welcome and very much appreciated by those people.

Suffice it to say that airports are no good without airlines and we need to look seriously at the airline industry to see what is happening. We have met pilots and other representatives in the airline industry over the past number of days and it is horrifying to see this entire industry could fragment in front of our eyes. There is a necessity to keep airlines moving, not just to keep routes open but for pilots as well, as they need to keep their licences current.One cannot do that with airlines if they are on the ground.

Senator Doherty raised a very important point with regard to people travelling in and out of the State, especially in the context of EU citizens and free movement of people. There is a PCR test that people must take before they fly into a country, which is very important, and it is being adhered to. When people land in Ireland, however, antigen testing should be used more frequently, or all of the time, at airports. This was pointed out to us by pilots yesterday. If a passenger comes in with a negative PCR test and also does an antigen test before he or she leaves the airport, it would give great security to the citizens who travel and to the friends to whom they travel. This is not being used. I cannot understand this. The people who are involved in the airline industry cannot understand this. Health staff use antigen testing and yet it is not allowed to be used on the people coming in, who might bring in any number of the variants of the pandemic disease with them. It is very short-sighted and I blame NPHET for this. NPHET seems to be running the show at the moment. People are afraid to make any decisions other than what NPHET says, because of what happened prior to Christmas. The Minister of State must look at the area of antigen testing and the free movement of people. If we do not keep these routes open we will be at a huge disadvantage as an island nation going forward.

The aviation industry in Ireland is worth millions of euro. It is not just about our connectivity around the world and our tourism trade. It is also about many other aspects such as aircraft maintenance and the dismantling of aircraft, which is a new industry. Aircraft leasing is a huge industry in Ireland. There are more than 50 aircraft leasing companies based in Ireland, with 14 of the top 15 leasing companies in the world based in and working out of Ireland. More than 60% of all leased aircraft worldwide are managed by Irish leasing companies. Aviation is a relatively young industry, being only 100 years old or so. Ireland has made great strides in this area and we must keep it going. It is a huge industry.