Pat Casey (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here. This matter is redundant because neither the Minister for Transport nor his Minister of State is present. I appreciate that they have schedules and business to attend to but I tabled a Commencement matter on the review of the national aviation strategy. I appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, in his previous capacity as a Minister of State at the then Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, would have a knowledge of tourism. However, he never held a transport brief within that Department. That is a matter for another day, however.

The review of the aviation strategy is important because ours is an island nation. I appreciate that the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, which is chaired by Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, has started a process in this regard. The review is about regional airports. It is about the need for Cork Airport and Shannon Airport to continue to qualify for funding from the regional airports programme. The review is about ensuring that the connectivity in the short-haul fleet is enhanced in order that we can continue to have an open economy.

I had hoped to have a dialogue with the Ministers from the Department of Transport, particularly because I am of the view that regional airports must be at the heart of the aviation strategy. Everything cannot go through from Dublin Airport. It will come as no surprise that I will take this opportunity promulgate the importance of Cork Airport. Because Cork Airport is Ireland's second busiest airport, it is important that it is at the heart of the national aviation strategy.

Ireland is an island nation on the western edge of Europe. We need the aviation sector. It is critical to us. We are very lucky to have Ryanair. We also have Aer Lingus, which, on foot of an admission made to me this morning at a meeting of the joint committee, has reduced its short-haul fleet due to Covid. However, as we all know, we have emerged from Covid and are in a recovery phase in aviation. With that comes the matter of sustainability in terms of aviation fuel, which is an issue that also needs to be addressed as part of our aviation review policy. It is important that we have an aviation policy that reflects the regions and that, as a result, reflects the importance of Cork and Shannon airports.

I appreciate that the Minister of State has come before the House. I could talk for my remaining four minutes, but I am not going to because, in fairness, the Minister of State does not hold a brief in the Department of Transport.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I will answer the first point the Senator raised. I am going to have the same issue with Senator Kyne. I do not disagree with Senator Buttimer.It puts us in an invidious position because these are not the policy areas for which we have responsibility. That said, I would include Shannon in Senator Buttimer's enunciation-----

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I did mention it.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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On the wider point regarding Ministers coming before the House, while I do not want to be presumptuous, if there was a revision of the scheduling of ministerial engagements with Seanad Éireann after Christmas, that would be very helpful. As Senator Kyne will know from previous experience, in many instances we are being asked to give responses, through no fault of our own and no fault of the Minister responsible, on policy issues or difficulties with which we are not familiar. Maybe a schedule could be prepared so that Ministers would know a couple of weeks in advance when they are due to appear before the Seanad. In that way, some people who might feel that they will get a nose bleed if they came here would be more inclined not to say they have diary commitments that prevent them from coming to this Chamber. It has always been a pleasure for me to come in here and I have always been very warmly received.

Now I will get on with the business in hand. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Naughton, attended the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications to discuss this issue last week. During that discussion they set out some of the objectives of the review of our national aviation policy and issues that will require consideration. The existing policy was first published in 2015 and its progress was reviewed twice, most recently in 2019. The development of that policy was thorough and launched in December 2012. It involved significant consultation and consideration.

Ireland's location, with no land connection to our international neighbours, serves only to highlight the importance of aviation. As such, a dynamic and forward-thinking policy is key to Ireland retaining its competitive position in the European Union. In her recent address to Dáil Éireann, the President of the European Commission, Ms Ursula von der Leyen, remarked that Ireland is a success story of the European Union and our aviation sector has played an important role in that success. Aviation is a generator of high-quality direct employment and also serves as a driver in the creation of employment in other sectors of our economy.

Our existing policy had the principal goals of enhancing Ireland's connectivity, fostering growth in enterprise and maximising the contribution of aviation to Ireland's sustainable economic growth and development. Having said that, it is evident that the world and the whole aviation sector have changed considerably in the short time since 2015, with Covid-19 emerging in early 2020. It is because of Covid-19 that work on the review of our national aviation policy was stalled, with officials in the Department of Transport instead refocusing on addressing the impact of the pandemic. Outside of Covid-19 impacts, an area that will require significant consideration is that of the environmental impacts of air connectivity. Between the introduction of our existing policy and now, there has been significant focus on climate impacts and decarbonisation of the aviation sector which will need to be reflected appropriately in any policy review.

At a European level, work is progressing on ambitious legislative proposals which will place obligations on airlines to incorporate mandated levels of sustainable aviation fuel into their supply chains and to strengthen their engagement in the emissions trading scheme, ETS. The need to secure the decarbonisation of the industry while also ensuring our connectivity is not negatively impacted is the primary challenge we face going forward. Recovery in aviation is well under way and it is time to refocus attention on the review of our national aviation policy and deliver connectivity between Ireland and the rest of the world in a more sustainable way.

Pat Casey (Fianna Fail)
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Perhaps the incoming Cathaoirleach of the Seanad could follow up on the Minister of State's suggestion regarding the scheduling of ministerial appearances before the House.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State has made a good point regarding a revision of the scheduling.

I thank him for the reply. Comprehensive work on our aviation policy is required. It is critical that we build on the success of our aviation sector to date because aviation plays such an important role for us. It enhances connectivity which leads to job creation and economic development. The Minister of State was correct in his off-script remark that Shannon and Cork airports are important. Everything cannot go through Dublin Airport and everything cannot be about Dublin. It cannot just be the hub airport; we must develop our regional airports..

The final point I would make is that the inclusion of airports like Cork in any consideration of airport funding is critical. It is within the Government's gift to support the airports at both Cork and Shannon. As we all know, money talks. It helps to build connectivity and routes, increase development and attract investment.

I thank the Minister of State for being here this morning.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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As I mentioned to my good colleague from Cork, I flew from Cork Airport recently and found the experience to be really good. It is a fabulous airport which I have used on many occasions, as have an awful lot of people in the wider Munster area. It is not just a Cork thing. In saying that, I mentioned Shannon Airport, which is very close to me although the closest airport to my home is Farranfore Airport in Kerry. It also plays a very important role in the development of tourism in the south west and in enhancing connectivity from an economic point of view.

I compliment the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. Often when I am locked away in my office on campus, I tune in to the proceedings of Oireachtas committees and I must say that the engagement the transport committee has had with the various stakeholders, particularly the airlines that service Ireland or those that should service Ireland more, has been very comprehensive. There are problems at a statutory level and at a governance level. Indeed, there are problems all over the place but there is also an ambition, particularly on the part of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, who is from the west and understands the importance of connectivity, to make sure we are not left in the situation feared by Senator Buttimer. From a Munster point of view, we have a very comprehensive network of airports, all of which have a sustainable and bright future in the context of a new, sustainable aviation policy. I will relay Senator Buttimer's remarks to the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State has made a good case to be the Minister for Transport next week, in fairness to him.

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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There are enough jobs being given out here this morning-----