Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 317: To ask the Minister for Transport the details of his policy priorities for the development of the Irish aviation sector; his preferred strategy for the future of the State airline and for the development of a second airport terminal at Dublin Airport; his views on the way in which State airports and regional airports can be developed and capacity increased at both; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5048/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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It is Government policy to encourage as wide a range as possible of safe, reliable and competitive air services to and from Ireland. The central tenet of this policy is the belief that strong, competitive and efficient networks of air links are vitally important for developing our trade and tourism sectors, particularly having regard to our island status and peripheral location.

The operation of air services within Europe has been totally liberalised by the EU and this has ensured that fares, routes and frequency of services operated by carriers, including Irish carriers, are entirely commercial decisions for each company. Increased competition between air carriers has resulted in cheaper air fares and more choice for consumers.

A major policy development in the airports sector was the enactment of the State Airports Act 2004 and the appointment of the new board of the Dublin Airport Authority, which has a statutory mandate to do everything necessary to give effect to the restructuring of the State airports. The new Shannon and Cork airport authorities have also been incorporated and all three airport authorities are in the process of preparing comprehensive business plans for their airports for consideration by me and the Minister for Finance. We both must be satisfied as to the state of operational and financial readiness of the Shannon and Cork airport authorities before the assets of the airports are vested in these authorities.

The other main policy issues currently being addressed are the future of Aer Lingus, the second terminal issue at Dublin Airport and the facilitation of greater access for all airlines providing transatlantic air services to and from the US. I have already addressed the position regarding the future of Aer Lingus and further terminal capacity of Dublin Airport in response to Priority Questions earlier today. With regard to transatlantic air services, I accept that an open skies agreement between the EU and the US is inevitable. Ireland's support will be contingent on an acceptable arrangement on Shannon being agreed between Ireland and the US, and that arrangement being reflected in the EU-US agreement. My officials have been maintaining contact with the US authorities, to explore what adjustments to the current Ireland-US arrangements are possible. While further informal contacts took place on 7 February when some senior US officials were in Dublin for a seminar on aviation regulation organised by the Institute of European Affairs, no conclusions were reached.

In general, it is Government policy that the three State airports should be in a position to provide cost competitive and appropriate infrastructure to meet the current and prospective needs of users consistent with a commercial mandate. Our six regional airports also provide an additional means of access for business and tourism to the regions, which they serve and my policy is to support the efforts of the regional airports in this regard. This support is manifest through a range of support schemes for regional air access such as the PSO programme, which supports air services to the regions. My Department will also continue to provide support to facilitate continued safe and viable operations at the airports and for essential capital works under the NDP. However, the level of support for the regional airports must continue to be considered in the light of wider aviation policy and the availability of Exchequer funds.