I raise the issue of aviation policy. Will the Government consider reviewing aviation policy in light of the fact that aviation policy has not been reviewed since 2015? I raise the matter in particular as a member of the cross-party Shannon Airport Oireachtas group. Shannon Airport is one of the most underused pieces of infrastructure in the State and we need to make much better use of it.

Sentiment score: 0.12

I thank the Minister and tentatively welcome his reply. I am from the west of Ireland, as is the Minister of State sitting beside the Minister, and Shannon Airport is critically important to us in the mid-west. It is not something I agree with, but we know that the Government is going to try to lift the passenger cap. It is a fact of life. We need to gain some additionality for regional airports. Will the Minister look at expanding the regional airports programme to allow access to airports such as Shannon Airport? It is a matter the CEO of the Shannon Airport Group, Ms Mary Considine, has raised and will raise again when she meets the Minister. We need to wean the country off Dublin Airport, although not in terms of the key point-to-point connectivity. At the moment, there are 16 flights per week from Dublin Airport to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. We could do with two flights per week from Shannon to Schiphol.

Sentiment score: 0.15

It is not about being anti-Dublin or anti-Dublin Airport. It is about giving us more options outside of Dublin, both in the mid-west and Cork, to avoid having to travel up the motorway to fly to key European destinations. I welcome the fact the Minister said he will examine the regional airports programme. While Government cannot force airlines to fly from a particular airport, it can create policy levers and incentives to make it more attractive for airlines to fly out of the likes of Shannon, Kerry and Knock airports. That really needs to be examined.

Sentiment score: 0.27