Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the ambassador to the Chamber and wish him well on the reopening of the embassy.

We saw the images from Dublin Airport over the weekend. My sister and her partner were going home to the UK yesterday and were extremely worried about what faced them. They left at around 7 o'clock. Thankfully, yesterday was not as bad but the images on Sunday put the frighteners on them and on hundreds and thousands of people who took fright and left a couple of hours earlier than planned. This is not good enough for an international airport. We have to look at the image this creates of our country and capital city and at the facilities we have in other airports. We talk about regionally balanced development and all of that. We have three fine international airports on the west coast, namely, Ireland West Airport Knock, Shannon and Cork. They have had difficulties in the past but anybody who has used those facilities know how handy and quick they are. There is pre-clearance at Shannon as well. There is a wonderful opportunity for people across the country to re-engage with those airports. We do not always have to look to Dublin for international travel. The more people that use the facilities and the more throughput and engagement they have, the more airlines that will provide services from them.

I ask for a debate on the area of air travel and tourism. The potential for the use of Ireland West Airport Knock, Shannon and Cork can be seen now, as well as their importance and the need for them. As the numbers of tourists grow in this country and the population increases, we need to look at all our assets regarding international travel. It would be hugely beneficial to have a fuller debate on this issue.

I acknowledge the ministerial engagement over recent days and weeks on capacity in Dublin Airport but it is not good enough to have people queueing on the street. Thankfully the weather was good but, on the law of averages, we will have a wet day soon and it will be even less pleasant than it is now. I cannot imagine bringing my mother to the airport and expecting her to queue outside for an hour before getting inside to continue queueing. There needs to be a thorough shake-up of the DAA and its actions and inaction regarding Dublin Airport. I look forward to a debate in the near future.