Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, is very welcome to the House. Her appearance here today is very important. First, I congratulate her on the appointment of iar-Sheanadóir, Pádraig Ó Céidigh, as the chair of the Shannon Group. He is a person we all admire. He brings huge experience to the role. Second, she comes to us today on foot of Ryanair's announcement of 20 new routes and a €200 million investment in Cork Airport. That is a positive news story. As the Minister of State says in her speech, Covid is the backdrop to today's debate. I will come back to the Government supports of €20 million being given in a funding package to aviation.

This is a progressive piece of legislation at a time when the aviation sector, globally as well as here at home, is seeking to rebuild connectivity following what has been an awful 24 months for everybody involved in hospitality, travel and aviation. I hope that anything I say will not be taken by anybody as being anything other than positive, but we must understand that there is more than one airport in the country, and that there are also more than two. There is Cork Airport, Shannon Airport, Dublin Airport and airports in Galway and Waterford. We could go up north and talk about Derry and Donegal as well. Air connectivity is crucial to the economy. We must continue to ensure that everything we do facilitates its return. Today's legislation and Ryanair's announcement are all important. It is good that we are seeing a new statutory instrument being intertwined in this legislation, which puts an onus on the Commission for Aviation Regulation to take account of the sustainable development of Dublin Airport in all of its determinations.

In her speech, the Minister of State made reference to the prices being charged. It is important that the DAA is able to negotiate, but the customer must be looked after. There is reference in the legislation to protecting the customer. It is important that airports are supported to rebuild in a sustainable manner. Last week Deputy O'Donnell and the Tánaiste had an exchange in the Dáil regarding Shannon. I wish to make a case for Cork Airport. Cork is as important as any other airport, and if we are talking about connectivity then it must be supported in route development, incentivisation and retention. The Minister of State has been very much engaged with all the airports over the summer and she knows that we are in a challenging time for the aviation sector. The loss of revenue experienced in the past two years will only gradually get back to pre-Covid levels in 2023 or 2024. I ask that the significant investment by the Government would continue, because it has underpinned the aviation sector to date. I hope the budget will reflect that in time.

To paraphrase what the Minister of State outlined, the Bill establishes a super regulator that will have a remit for safety, security, economic regulation, licensing and impact every aspect of Irish aviation. It is a clear vision of where we should be going, but from its inception the regulator should be part of that from day one. A clear overarching objective should be set out for it and there should be an internal alignment across its own functions before making decisions that impact on the industry. I refer, for example, to trade-offs between obligations imposed for licensing, safety and security purposes versus the economic impact of those implications.

The new regulator should be conducive to collaboration with all stakeholders. The Minister of State and I have received emails. Senator Dooley and I are on the transport committee and we have received emails from members of staff regarding air traffic control. I hope the engagement will lead to a resolution for them.

This is a very important piece of legislation. It is one we should all support unreservedly. We have seen issues with merchant terminals and travel agents, for example, as part of Covid-19. I hope that the regulator will bring clarity and certainty. We must see route development and incentivisation as part of the budget to underpin the Government's support of the aviation sector.