Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 200: To ask the Minister for Transport if he will sanction the €53 million spend over five years in the economic plan put forward by the Mid-Western Regional Authority and other interests in the mid-west. [12238/07]

Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 209: To ask the Minister for Transport his plans to provide additional funding to Shannon Airport for marketing following the Open Skies agreement reached between the EU and the US. [12237/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 200 and 209 together.

I announced my intention to prepare an Economic and Tourism Development Plan for Shannon in the context of the EU-US negotiations on Open Skies when negotiators initially signed off on the text of a draft EU-US agreement in November 2005. That draft agreement provided for transitional arrangements for Ireland, relating to the phasing out of the 'Shannon Stop'.

In preparing the Plan, my Department has consulted with the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism, the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment and the Department of Finance. A liaison group, established by the Mid West Regional Authority, has separately prepared a report on the future development of the Shannon region as an input to the Plan. Following the endorsement of the EU-US Air Transport Agreement by the Council of Transport Ministers on 22 March I expect to be in a position to bring the Tourism and Economic Development Plan for Shannon to finalisation shortly.

It is envisaged that the EU-US Air Transport Agreement will be signed on 30 April at the EU-US Summit in Washington and will enter into force on a provisional basis from 30 March 2008. The transitional arrangements relating to Ireland entered into effect immediately following the political agreement reached at the Council of Ministers on 22 March.