Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this topic with Senators this morning. Aviation plays a critical role in our economy as a driving force for tourism and business, including foreign direct investment. Nowhere is this more evident than in Shannon. Government policies have consistently recognised and supported this contribution. Indeed, this has remained the case following the arrival of Covid-19 to our shores. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the aviation sector has benefited considerably from a suite of measures to support businesses across the economy, including but not limited to, a wage subsidy scheme, grants, low-cost loans, a commercial rates waiver, deferred tax liabilities and the Covid restrictions support scheme. It is estimated that Irish airports and airlines will have received approximately €440 million under these measures by the end of 2021. Early in the Covid crisis the Government implemented a range of horizontal economy-wide supports. Shannon has rightly and appropriately benefited from these supports, including the recently extended employment wage subsidy scheme.

Specifically, in relation to Shannon Airport, it is benefiting from a suite of aviation-specific Exchequer-funded programmes and schemes. By virtue of its size - pre-Covid the airport had more than 1 million annual passengers - Shannon Airport has not been eligible for funding under the regional airports programme. However, in light of Covid-19, a decision was taken by the Government to provide funding to Shannon and Cork airports under a newly designed €32 million Covid-19 regional State airports programme this year in recognition of the impact of the pandemic on these airports. Under this programme, the Exchequer is funding 100% of all eligible non-economic safety and security-related current expenditure at Shannon Airport in 2021, as well as a number of safety and security-related capital projects. Shannon Airport was also separately allocated emergency capital supports of more than €6 million towards its hold baggage screening project, a safety and security project at the airport.

The Government has been responsive to the needs of airports as part of the wider aviation ecosystem. This ability to respond decisively is clearly seen in the funding announcement I made this morning. I am pleased to inform Seanad Éireann that today, I have announced €108 million in direct Exchequer supports to the airports of Shannon, Dublin, Cork, Ireland West Airport Knock, Kerry and Donegal. This means that this year, an unprecedented €160 million in Exchequer funding has been allocated by the Government to support airports under the Covid-19 supplementary support schemes, the regional airports programme, and the regional State airports programme. Funding under these programmes supports airports in delivering safety, security and sustainability-related projects and activities.

The supplementary support schemes will help compensate smaller regional airports for the damage caused to them by Covid-19, as well as providing State airports, including Shannon Airport, with the flexibility to roll out more route incentives and to charge rebates with a view to supporting recovery and growth of connectivity. In total, in 2021 the Government will have allocated almost €24 million to Shannon Airport in direct grant support. This is in addition to the aviation-specific supports provided in 2020 and the horizontal supports provided to Shannon during the Covid-19 crisis.

Turning to the wider group, I understand that Shannon Group's engagement with the relevant local authorities on the transfer of Shannon Heritage sites to them is progressing well. As Members may be aware, due to the complexities involved in the transfer, due diligence exercises must be concluded before any necessary formal consents of the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform can be given to execute any transfer of the sites with the agreement of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The restructuring of the group is seen as necessary to assist the Shannon Group to focus on the recovery of the airport and to build back international passengers, while continuing to develop its aviation cluster and associated property activities.