Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 838: To ask the Minister for Transport if, following the delay in the concluding of negotiations between the EU and US on a new aviation agreement, he will reconsider his decision not to commission an economic impact study for the Shannon area on the changeover to an open skies aviation policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40175/05]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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There is no delay in the conclusion of the negotiations between the EU and US on a new aviation agreement. The full text of an agreement was settled by EU and US officials at the end of their last negotiation session in Washington, on 18 November 2005. The only significant outstanding issue is the outcome of the US's moves to amend its ownership and control rules in order that EU carriers, for example, could have much greater control over the commercial activities of US airlines that they invest in. The US began its public consultation process at the beginning of November 2005, and its own procedures for this means that it cannot publish the result of the process until about March 2006. This timescale may not be sufficient to allow for a final decision at the March Transport Council, but a final decision will, I expect, be taken no later than the June Transport Council, with a view to the EU-US Aviation Agreement coming into effect in November 2006. The time scales for all of the above mentioned staging posts along the way to the EU-US Agreement have been known to the US and to EU Ministers from November 2005, and they are all proceeding on schedule. As I have said in the House many times before, the conclusion that open skies will be good for Irish tourism, aviation, business links and the economy generally is clear.

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.

In addition to the extra time that the transitional period allows Shannon, I also announced my intention to develop a tourism and economic development plan for Shannon Airport, in consultation with my colleagues, the Ministers for Arts, Sport and Tourism and Enterprise, Trade and Employment, following the negotiation in November 2005 of the transitional arrangement for Shannon Airport. Work has begun in my Department on that plan. I am consulting both Ministers concerned on the scope of the plan and the structures to manage the development and implementation of the plan given the cross-departmental nature of the issues involved.

I also met with a group from the Mid-West Regional Authority, which also included representatives from SIGNAL, Shannon Development, IBEC, Shannon Airport and local authorities. A further meeting of that group was also recently attended by a senior official of my Department in order that the group can liaise with my Department regarding the cross-departmental work under way, and have a means to input suggestions or material of their own.