Cúis áthais í dom-sa Meastacháin na Roinne Turasóireachta agus Iompair a mholadh ag an bpointe seo in am dul chun cinn eacnamaíocht na tíre seo. Is cinnte go leanfaidh an eacnamaíocht sa treo seo de bharr an stiúrú smachtúil eacnamaíochta atá tugtha ag an Rialtas go dtí seo.
I am glad to introduce this Estimate at a time when the Irish economy continues to progress at an impressive rate. Our disciplined approach to management of the economy, and particularly the public finances, has helped to set the scene for the maintenance of this trend.
The two sectors of the economy with which we are dealing in this Estimate, namely tourism and transport, have played a vital part in the process. Since 1986 the number of people employed in the tourism industry has increased by about 18,000 or 32 per cent and tourism now contributes over 6 per cent of GNP. The licensed road haulage industry has expanded by almost a quarter over the same period and employment in air transport is up 20 per cent, primarily as a result of liberalisation measures in both sectors.
Expenditure on transport however still accounts for 15 per cent of our GNP. The National Development Plan 1989 to 1993 pointed out that transport costs represent between 9 to 10 per cent of export sales values to Europe, arising to a large degree from our island location off the coast of mainland Europe.
Ireland's access transport difficulties have been recognised by the EC who are making almost half a billion pounds aid available for road, rail, port and airport investments, to ease the effects of our peripheral location. An investment programme has been prepared in consultation with the Commission and I am hopeful of a decision in September on specific projects to be assisted. Liberalisation has introduced a sharp competitive element to road haulage and air services and transport costs here have begun to fall as a result.
The Transport Council agreed last March, under the Irish Presidency, to increase the quota for international carriage of goods within the Community, by 40 per cent this year. In addition, Irish hauliers are being allowed since 1 July to carry goods from point to point within another member state, subject in the short term to a licensing system known as "cabotage licensing". These are essential steps towards complete freedom of carriage by 1992. They broaden the market for the services of our international hauliers, providing them with lucrative new business opportunities and a mechanism for introducing economies in the services they provide to Irish exporters.
At the more recent Transport Council in Luxembourg, the Irish Presidency and delegation again succeeded in securing the adoption of a liberalisation package, this time for air services. The new measures include an open route schedule, sixth freedom rights, a significant expansion of fifth freedom rights, more liberal capacity sharing arrangements, a more flexible, simpler and more efficient system of fares approval, and the implementation of the first steps towards achieving a system of double disapproval for fares by 1993.
Greater market freedoms and growth in air traffic have provided new challenges for Aer Lingus, the national carrier. The airline have had to face increasing competition on established routes, to open new routes and to contend with problems such as air traffic control delays, increases in fuel costs and landing charges. Furthermore, the airline have to fund fleet renewal and expansion through a combination of own resources and borrowing, but without recourse to the Exchequer. It is imperative that the company succeed in reducing unit costs relative to other airlines and, achieve a steady rise in earnings if they are to continue to compete successfully and provide the necessary expanded services to facilitate economic growth.
Aer Lingus have been seeking to exploit their already established reputation for quality, quick turnaround and price competitiveness in aircraft maintenance. The company are planning a major increase in this area of their business with a new £35 million investment in a twin-bay B747 hangar which will be completed in spring 1991. When this project is operating to capacity, aircraft maintenance for foreign airlines will account for about 75 per cent of the total business. By 1997, the new hangar development is expected to create 560 new jobs mainly for skilled people. I might mention in passing that in the financial year just ended the average number of people in employment in Ireland by Aer Lingus and their subsidiaries was 6,556, an increase of over 17 per cent in just three years.
Our air navigation services have been gearing up to meet the demands of increased traffic. The re-equipment programme will be completed by 1992 and within budget. New control facilities, coupled with current recruitment of additional staff, will substantially expand capacity to cater for increasing traffic and further enhance safety within Irish controlled airspace.
The three State airports are also expanding to cater for increased traffic demand. The new runway at Dublin is fully operational, the main runway at Cork has been extended while improved passenger facilities are being provided at all three airports. The regional airports have also formulated plans to accommodate forecast demand.
The most direct benefits in the context of today's Estimate of all this expanded activity can be seen in the provision for a surplus surrender this year from Aer Rianta which is likely to be about £18 million while en-route facilities charges, which are collected on behalf of the State by Eurocontrol, will also realise £18 million.
Turning to sea transport, the House already had the opportunity last March, during the debate on the B & I Line Bill, to discuss the recent performance of the company. The focus for the company is now fixed firmly on the future. As the House is aware, the Minister recently asked the board of the B & I to submit proposals for the future of the company which would end the need for Exchequer support as quickly as possible and would take account of Ireland's need for adequate and competitive transport services. These proposals have now been received and are being assessed.
The Government are providing in this Estimate for grant assistance of £500,000 and a repayable loan for the same amount to Swansea Cork Ferries Limited——