Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 360: To ask the Minister for Transport the steps he will take in view of the recent signing of the Open Skies agreement and the attendant changes in transatlantic air services at Shannon Airport, to implement the recommendations in the Shannon Tourism and Economic Development Plan; the funding mechanism he will put in place for the plan; and the projected timeline for implementation of the plan. [13539/07]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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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 a 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, the Department of Communications and Natural Resources 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.