I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 19 and 35 together.
On 28 January 1991 I convened meetings with the chairmen and senior management of all the regional airports and with Ryanair, and had discussions the following day with Aer Lingus, to express my serious concern at the imminent loss of services to/from the regional airports. We discussed a range of measures which might be taken to resolve the difficulties facing the airports. These discussions are continuing.
The regional airports have an important contribution to make to the economic and social development of this country and to the continued expansion of tourism in the regions served by those airports. I am most anxious, therefore. that air services to/from the regional airports will continue to operate. In the latter context, I was pleased when Aer Lingus recently found it possible to accede to my request that they should continue to serve the Dublin-Connaught and Dublin-Derry routes which they had originally proposed to drop under their "Blueprint for Recovery" Plan.