Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 199: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will instigate a full economic impact study on the western region as a result of the new changed circumstances at Shannon Airport; if his attention has been drawn to the despondency and anger that is shown by community leaders in the mid-west area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37038/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to my answer to a priority question dealing with Ireland-US aviation relations on 24 November 2005, and to subsequent answers to similar questions.

The conclusion that open skies will be good for Irish tourism, aviation, business links and the economy generally is clear, therefore I do not intend to delay those benefits further by commissioning another study on the impact of open skies.

The transitional arrangement for Shannon has now been finalised, and the period of time for Shannon to prepare is now known. It is now a matter for the management and staff of Shannon Airport to use that transitional period in the best way possible, and to look forwards and grasp the undoubted opportunities that open skies offers.

It has been known for many years that open skies between the EU and US was inevitable. The European Commission received its mandate and began negotiations on an open skies deal over two years ago, and that deal, now recently finalised, will enter into force next November, following approval by EU Transport Ministers at a forthcoming Transport Council. In addition to all of that time, I have negotiated a further transitional period of one and a half years starting from next November, extending Shannon stop arrangements until April 2008. All of this extra time will allow Shannon to plan the move to open skies in an orderly way.

I do not accept that there are any grounds for despondency or anger in the Shannon region. What the transitional arrangement does is give the airport extra time to prepare. It does not bring the Shannon stop to a premature end — in fact, it is exactly the opposite. No doubt that the Deputy will share my view that the qualities and abilities of the management and staff of Shannon Airport, and of the local businessmen and community leaders in the Shannon region, means that they are well positioned to exploit all of the opportunities that an independent airport can take from open skies.