Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to express my sympathies to the poor cyclist who was injured last night in a hit-and-run incident. That was the second hit-and-run in that particular area. I call on the Garda Commissioner to pursue what is happening in that area and to investigate it. Cars are being abandoned after accidents. That somebody was hit is bad enough. To do a hit and run and leave a person by the side of the road who is now in a critical condition, is wrong and needs urgent action.

I also welcome the hospitality industry's slow, careful and managed reopening. It is great to see so many people out enjoying it and so many people back to work.

I want to continue on the point made by Senator Kyne on aviation. Sometimes we forget just how much Ireland has contributed to world aviation. I know this is a subject close to the Leader's heart. We can go right back to the likes of Tony Ryan and GPA, Guinness Peat Aviation, who went on to set up Ryanair which is now Europe's largest airline by passengers carried and by fleet size, based on 2019 figures. Michael O'Leary, an Irish person, is a giant of the airline industry. Half of the aircraft leasing in the world is based in Ireland. Willie Walsh, a former chief executive at Aer Lingus, then British Airways and the International Airlines Group, is now the secretary general to the International Air Transport Association, representing 82% of the world's airlines. Eamonn Brennan, former chief executive of the Irish Aviation Authority, is in charge of EUROCONTROL. The former Senator, Pádraig Ó Céidigh, set up Aer Arann originally which became Stobart Air. Alan Joyce is chief executive of Qantas. Shannon Airport invented the concept of duty free.

As a nation and a people, we have contributed huge amounts to aviation. We are more dependent on aviation than any other European country by a long way. Even people in the UK can get the train from London to Brussels or Paris, something that we cannot do from Dublin. Up to 90% of our inbound tourists come by air and 10% by sea. We need an urgent debate on aviation for inbound tourism. The Cathaoirleach is from Kerry and is affected by it in terms of connectivity. My heart goes out to people in Stobart Air but we need an urgent debate on aviation to find out what the Government can do in addition to all it has done already.