Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Leader back and thank her for scheduling the Fourth and Final Stages of our Safe Access to Termination of Pregnancy Services Bill for next Thursday. This is very much a cross-party initiative. It has received support and, indeed, signatures from almost every party here. It means a great deal to an awful lot of people.I place on record my thanks to the Leader in that regard. My understanding is the Government has promised to bring forward a Bill of its own but the latest news is that there is no timeline for that Bill appearing. I again appeal to colleagues of all parties to get behind the Together for Safety safe access Bill next Thursday. I am delighted that safe access legislation has been passed in the North. That is a step forward and I congratulate the Green Party and, indeed, my own party for making that happen in the past week. We can take a similar step and complete the passage of the safe access Bill through the Seanad next Thursday. I appeal to Senators of all parties to continue on that cross-party basis and enable that to happen.

I wish Conal Henry, the new chairperson of the Shannon Group, well. It has been an unfortunate 12 months. There was an appointment that did not go ahead. Our good colleague, former Senator Pádraig Ó Céidigh, was appointed but, unfortunately, after six months he felt the need to step down. That is unfortunate because he had a lot to offer. It would be good to understand what happened to make him feel he had to step away. A fundamental point is that in his new job, Mr. Henry needs support from the Minister for Transport. Members saw the chaotic scenes at Dublin Airport in the past week. Of course, much of that relates to the current crisis and staff shortages but the other issue in this regard - I hope colleagues from the west of Ireland will appreciate this - is that while 90% of aeroplanes are taking off from Dublin Airport, there will always be a degree of chaos. Right now, unfortunately, people are being asked to arrive three and a half hours early for their flights. We need a new national airport authority with an explicit mandate for a new regional balance to support airports in Shannon and Cork and across the west of Ireland. I am surprised the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has not grasped that. The transport committee gave him an all-party instruction to consider doing that. We need that kind of fundamental change.

I ask the Leas-Chathaoirleach to allow me a few more seconds due to the interruption.