Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is just staggering.

The aviation industry, more than any other sector, has been decimated by Covid. While we welcome the opening on 19 July and many people are hugely excited about travelling again and supporting the industry, it is going to take a long time for it to recover. It is not going to recover on 19 July and the Government must support the industry through the coming period. We have seen what has happened with regard to flights to and from Kerry and Donegal, as well as with the Aer Lingus base in Shannon Airport. Government supports are badly needed but the key focus must be support for the Heathrow slots. We have 23 Heathrow slots from Ireland which are hugely valuable. Oman Air bought one Heathrow slot in 2016 for $75 million. We have 23 of them and they are hugely valuable. The Minister for Transport has the right to veto their disposal and to secure them for a number of years and I would urge him to do so for a further 20 years.