In bringing this motion before the House, the need for the Minister for Communications to allow special permission to Blue Army Chartered Pilgrim Flights en route from Lisbon to fly direct from Horan International Airport to the United States without the obligation to touch down at Shannon, I do not for any purpose of undermining the wellbeing, the standing and the economic viabiity of Shannon Airport.
The Horan International Airport, as it is now known, has had many and various descriptions. Some people see it as the classic example of the art of the impossible. Other people see it as striking a blow of defiance against total opposition to the project. Other people see in it a type of symbolism against cynicism and derision. However, I prefer to see in the Horan International Airport the symbolism of lighting a candle and a ray of hope for an area which has been, for far too long, economically depressed with little hope of leadership and little guidance, the area which I represent, County Mayo, on the perimeter of the European Community. The people of the west, collectively and individually, need not apologise to anybody for their collective determination to see this project through to fruition.
As I said in my preamble, all one has to do is look at the geographic location of Mayo in relation to the decision-making centres that affect us, Brussels and Dublin, to see the significance this airport must have on the economic viability of the western region. In Mayo we are on the furthermost perimeter of the most remote and insular country of the 12 member European Community. Furthermore, the classification of Ireland as one region from the point of view of disbursement of EC regional funds has meant that our share of the substantial regional funds has not been as great as we hoped.
We are further debilitated in that we have the highest rainfall, the shortest sunshine hours, the highest wind speeds, low levels of evapotranspiration and extremely low permeability of soil. We also have major access problems in that we have no ferry or air service and consequently our share of national tourist revenue is not as great as one would expect.
In 1984, for example, the Ireland west region which comprises Galway and Mayo, earned £96.5 million from tourism. Of this, £50.8 million came by way of revenue from foreign tourists. However, closer examination shows that Galway county earned £31.2 million whereas County Mayo got a mere £19.6 million. If one were to break this down in per capita terms it breaks down as follows: Galway having 293,000 tourists and Mayo having 139,000. These figures underline the need for easier access and for ease of communication. The days of tourists disembarking at a ferry port and spending up to four hours on substandard roads driving to their hotel accommodation, bed and breakfast accommodation, caravan park or whatever, are long since gone. The understandable pattern nowadays is for people to disembark and to stay within easy striking distance of the ferry port or the airport, to sample what one might describe as a cross-section of Irish culture, history, folklore and life such as the Lakes of Killarney, Bunratty Castle, Bunratty Folk Park etc. and to make for the port again by way of access or exit back to the continent.
The only practical way that the western region, and Mayo in particular, can get a slice of the action is by airlifting people directly into the heart of the province. In terms of location Knock Airport could hardly be more advantageously or strategically located. The airport is a mere 30 miles from Ballina, 30 miles from Castlebar, 30 miles from Carrick-on-Shannon, 30 miles from Sligo, 45 miles from Galway and 35 miles from Roscommon.
From the point of view of attracting foreign industrialists to this area, easy access is of paramount importance. The potential of the county is enormous. We have there a tourist haven, an area which has an uncontaminated work force in relation to trade union politics. We have there a whole wealth, but it is a case of giving the necessary stimulus to unleash the wealth creating abilities of the people.
In terms of tourist potential Mayo cannot be rivalled. We have two of the finest trout fishing lakes in the world. The Moy is one of the finest rod salmon angling rivers there is. We have an abundance of unpolluted beaches, an abundance of fresh air, an abundance of game fishing, of coarse fishing and of shooting potential. The airport has given an enormous ray of hope to the area, and rightly so, because in a recent study done by Dr. Pearse Ryan of the Agricultural Institute, he predicted that 50,000 farmers in Ireland would fail to meet the econimic criteria of the next decade, and therefore, other areas of economic development, such as tourism and forestry needed to be developed. Last year alone we imported £600 million worth of coniferous trees. In a report on our forestry industry, it was proved that the marginal lands of Leitrim and Mayo have a higher potential timber yield than those of Scandinavia. We have the potential, we have the necessary chemistry but it is a case of giving us a chance.
I take pride in being a member of a political party that in Government gave £9.2 million to the funding of the airport project; something that has been misconstrued and misrepresented time and time again. As a westerner, there have been times when I felt a natural sense of rankled pride when I heard derogatory remarks attributed to the airport. I had the honour of being on the inaugural Ryanair flight into Connacht Regional Airport — and I want to thank the Minister for providing the licence for that — and I felt a pulsating sense of pride at being part of history in the making.
The question of viability has often been raised. We should not put a very stringent gauge on infrastructure like this. We do not do so with the national primary roads or with DART. It is part of an economic feeder system and we cannot quantify it in terms of pounds, shillings and pence. For years CIE operated in a social role on a social dimension. I know the Minister is now calling the shots in relation to CIE. The Horan International Airport has a vital economic and social role which must be considered. In this regard what I am looking for is a rather tame concession. It is this: the Blue Army which is an international pilgrim organisation have indicated in a letter as follows:
We operate six 707 planes regularly from the U.S. to Lisbon (Fatima) from March until November. We bring about 20,000 each year to Fatima, and it is our desire to stop at Knock on our return trip.
We built a 120-room hotel at Fatima for that purpose and are just adding on 60 additional rooms. We plan on building a large hostel at Knock, so that our tourists can stay over. We will also give them the option of staying a week in Ireland, rather than just a day or two at Knock.
As all of our flights will first go to Portugal, it is imperative that we be allowed to stop at Knock after the short flight from Lisbon, without stopping first at Shannon or Dublin.
Many of our tourists are elderly. Many are infirm; hence their desire to visit Fatima and Knock. It will make all the difference to us if we can fly directly to Knock from Lisbon. All our flights are on charter aircraft.
Twenty thousand pilgrims will be lost to this country unless this concession is made. There have been amendments previously in relation to deregulating, or relaxing to an extent, the impositions in relation to charter flights.
I want to draw the Minister's attention to a very generous letter which he wrote to me on 30 May 1986 where he set out in stark perspective his role, the Government's role and the various steps that have been taken in relation to the development of the airport. He sets down many irrefutable arguments in that and he certainly nails the lie once and for all as to who did what in relation to Connacht Regional Airport, but his final paragraph is the one from which I derive maximum hope. The Minister concluded by saying; and so far has lived up to his promise:
Insofar as I am concerned you can be assured that, further State funds apart, I will continue to do everything possible to assist the airport being a success.
This will mean a lot to the airport. It will mean that the gauge will be less rigorous. It will mean that the statistics will be more favourable. It will mean that our cherished dream to see the airport becoming an economic viable entity, will at least have been partially realised.
