I would like to share my time with Seanadóir Pól Ó Foighil. I would like, with the agreement of the House, to give him five minutes.
Adjournment Matter. - Shannon Airport Stop-Overs.
Acting Chairman
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Although I thank the Minister, Deputy Smith for staying here, I am disappointed that the Minister for Tourism and Transport, Deputy Brennan cannot be with us. However, I know the Minister present will be sympathetic to my pleas in the motion which is asking the Minister if he proposes to continue with his policy of compulsory stop-over of transatlantic flights at Shannon.
I have raised this because of the continuing controversy and widespread concern not just in the mid-west but in surrounding counties, for instance Counties Galway, Mayo, Kerry, Cork, Offaly, Tipperary South Riding, who are all very concerned regarding the status of Shannon Airport and the possibility of transatlantic flights over-flying it. There should not be a change in the status of Shannon either for scheduled or shorter flights. Any change, as Minister Brennan has been told on many occasions would have detrimental effects regionally and nationally, with no apparent gain to the country. There is widespread concern among the management and staff at Shannon Airport, among industrialists, workers, commercial and business people, hoteliers, guesthouse owners and people involved in all aspects of tourism.
Shannon Airport with its transatlantic status has made a very significant contribution to the social and economic development of the area, not just the mid-west but adjoining regions. It has also made a contribution nationally. Its removal as a transatlantic gateway would seriously undermine that role. There is no evidence that changing the status of Shannon would lead to any increase in North American tourists to Ireland. What would be most likely would be a radical shift in the distribution of tourism expenditure away from the west and mid-west regions which have invested so heavily in infrastructure. How easy it would be if passengers were disembarking in Dublin, to lure them to the delights of the Wicklow Mountains and the Mourne Mountains and forget about the delights of Connemara and Kerry. This would have a significantly negative impact on industry and services in the west and would inhibit the location of future industrial investment in the region.
What about regional economic balance? Shannon has been to the fore for a long time, as a model for regional development for the other regions. In the drawing up of the national plan that was submitted to Brussels for peripheral funding, Shannon was the prototype. Without the mid-west region there would not have been the same ease with which that national plan was drawn up. Now we are moving away from the whole European concept of regionalisation and we are moving back to centralisation which is not Euro-policy.
Performance in the mid-west was second to the east and well ahead of all the other regions in overall economic performance from 1971 to 1988. The region thus provided a national counter balance to the increasing centralisation in the east.
The change of status at Shannon would be most unlikely to increase the total North American tourist traffic to Ireland. In fact, 71 per cent of North American tourists on direct flights currently choose to disembark at Shannon. Surveys of visitors to Ireland show that only 2.5 per cent of North American visitors travelling to Dublin indicated that stopping at Shannon posed a problem. The vast majority of US tour operators do not perceive Shannon's status to be a problem for the market. Shifting the distribution of North American tourists away from the west to the east would put a significant number of jobs at risk in tourism and related industries. Everybody realises the infrastructure of hotels in the Shannon region. They are nationally and internationally known. There are hotels like Dromoland and Adare Manor and they have a very high dependency on North American traffic. About 90 per cent of their trade comes from North America and it is estimated that 32 jobs will be lost or seriously threatened in these hotels if the fly-over takes place.
In relation to industry, 2,300 airport and tourist-related jobs will be at risk. Employers in the region have indicated that a reduction in the frequency of US flights at Shannon would result in inefficiencies and increased costs. The data processing companies in Shannon rely heavily on a daily flight service to the US. Eight hundred and fifty people employed in seven companies indicated that a change would lead to inefficiencies and increased costs and that it would lead to a need to review their siting in Ireland.
In relation to time saving, there is only an insignificant loss of time. About 45 to 55 minutes are lost between disembarking and continuing on to Dublin. There is a saving of from two to three hours as a result of immigration pre-inspection and if one were to think in terms of the problem of travelling from Dublin Airport into the city centre, I cannot see that there is any great difference in time.
Looking at EC policy on regional development and peripherality which is so much in vogue, the EC would support the maintenance of Shannon's status. In relation to congestion and decongestion, a recent IATA European study showed that Dublin would be one of Europe's most congested airports in the nineties. Shannon does not suffer from air traffic congestion now nor has it been predicted for the future. There are no terminal capacity restrictions at Shannon.
I would like to ask the Minister what will happen in respect of European directives which will cause problems for us in 1992 regarding duty free facilities. At least the Minister can govern national decisions. How does he intend compensating for jobs lost through a loss in revenue, in trade and in tourist traffic? What are his plans for developing Shannon as an aviation centre of world status? It has potential for both the travel and tourist industries. We know the jobs are forecast in those two areas.
Has the Minister commissioned any study of future trends in world aviation traffic? The expansion at Shannon arises from developments by Aeroflot. Since glasnost two major factors require study and consideration. First, in view of the accepted insecure position of Mr. Gorbachev, and because of the introduction of free market conditions with consequential potential knock-on adverse effects on Aeroflot, has the Minister evaluated the potential loss to Shannon in the event of any upheaval in the USSR which could result in part or total termination of Aeroflot's flights? What about the future of the Aer Rianta managed duty free shops in Moscow and Leningrad? Has the Minister considered a study of world aviation trends that may lead to opportunities of exploiting Shannon Airport's regional geographic position?
Finally, we know — and the Minister of State will agree — that the entrepreneurial spirit is very much alive and well in the region and has been for decades. All interest groups in the Shannon region are not sitting back and relying totally on the special status of Shannon Airport. They are diligent and innovative in attracting new industries and in formulating industrial and tourist plans. The aviation centre, GPA and novel tourist projects are in the area but a flyover would devastate the region and result in the continued centralisation of the Dublin access. I do not think the Minister of State would disagree with me that what we are seeking is a retention of vibrancy in the mid-west and adjoining regions to counterbalance the ever increasing pressure on Dublin. Any decision by the Minister not to continue with his policy of the current compulsory stopover would surely be devastating. I would like to have his views in that matter.
Ba mhaith liom i dtosach báire buíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire Stáit maidir leis an méid a bhí le rá aige faoi theilifís na Gaeltachta agus an tsuim a léirigh sé féin sa cheist. Tá mé buíoch de as an ngeallúint a thug sé go ndéanfadh sé iarracht seo a phlé le hAire Stáit na Gaeltachta agus leis an Taoiseach féin, Aire na Gaeltachta. Tá áthas orm freisin go bhfuil sé i láthair inniu agus an cheist áirithe seo á plé againn mar baineann sé le réigiún iarthar na hÉireann. Is maith an rud freisin go bhfuil an Leas-Chathaoirleach sa Chathaoir mar, os as Ciarraí dó, tuigeann sé na cúrsaí seo go maith. Cuireann sé as dom go mór go bhfuil caint ann faoi bhaint den stádas atá ag Aerfort na Sionnaine.
Táimid rannpháirteach san EC, agus tá páirt mhór againn ann. Tá an Rialtas ag rá, dála an phobail go léir, go gcreidimid go láidir i réigiúnachas, agus tá dhá réigiún chinnte sa tír a gcaithfear glacadh leo mar atá siad. Nuair a théann tú siar thar an tSionainn, tá tú i réigiún amháin, iarthar na hÉireann; agus nuair a théann tú soir go hAth Luain, tá tú i réigiún eile, oirthear na hÉireann. Go dtí seo, na buntáistí is mó a d'eascair as beartas ar bith a bhfuil baint aige le réigiúnachas, is in oirthear na hÉaireann a fuarthas seo: cósta thoir na hÉireann nó Baile Átha Cliath.
Tabharfaidh mé sampla amháin, an DART, an córas iarnróid, a chosnaigh £150 milliún agus tuilleadh, agus táimid anois ag caint faoin ngnó is tábhachtaí in iarthar na hÉireann, an turasóireacht. Níl sna raflaí seo atá ag dul thart ach caint, ach, ar ndóigh, bíonn sé éasca caint a dhéanamh, ach bíonn orainn súil a choinneáil ar chúrsaí agus cluas le héisteacht bheith againn. Ba bhuille tubaisteach é d'iarthar na hÉireann — agus nuair a deirim iarthar na hÉireann, tá mé ag caint faoi chuile áit ó Chiarraí go Dún na nGall, cósta thiar na tíre uilig — agus ní ghlacfaí leis san iarthar dá ndéanfaí rud ar bith a bhainfeadh de stádas Aerfort na Sionnaine, mar ansin bheadh leath amháin den tír ag dul i saibhreas agus an leath eile ag dul i mbochtanas. Táimid sách dona mar atáimid san iarthar gan an turasóireacht agus forbairt acmhainní nádúrtha a bhaint dínn. Sin é an rud a tharlóidh má bhaintear de Aerfort na Sionnaine. Beidh an t-iarthar bánaithe ar fad. Is é an pointe atá a dhéanamh agam ná nach nglacfaidh muintir an iarthair leis, agus cuirfear aghaidh aontaithe ar bun, is cuma cén páirtí lena mbainimid.
I dtosach báire, is mian liom focal buíochais a ghabháil leis an Seanadóir Ó Foighil as ucht na fáilte a chuir sé roimh an méid a dúirt mé faoi theilifís na Gaeltachta. Tá súil againn uilig go mbeidh athrú agus feabhas tagtha ar an scéal ionas go ndéanfar beart cinnte faoin ábhar sin sa bhliain atá romhainn. Ba mhaith liom freisin a chur in iúl don Seanadóir Jackman agus an Seanadóir Ó Foighil nach bhfuil aon athrú tagtha ar pholasaí an Rialtais maidir leis an gceist atá á plé againn.
I want to emphasise again to Senator Jackman and Senator Ó Foighil there is no change in existing Government policy on the Shannon stop. The Minister for Tourism and Transport, over the past few months, has received a number of submissions from various organisations and interests both for and against the change, including one from myself, and I will leave the Senators to guess what case I have made in that area. His Department are at present studying the submissions in the context of plans and trends within the European Community and wider aviation trends. It is not possible to answer the detailed questions asked by the Senator in relation to the possible changes in the duty free area, and so on in the post-1992 era. It is clear that this issue will have to be dealt with extensively within the context of the total negotiations.
I would ask the Senator not to forecast the demise of a very prominent international leader in the Soviet Union this soon. Mr. Gorbachev requires the greatest possible international support in his efforts to deal with very complex and difficult problems. While I am not lecturing anyone I do not think we in Ireland should tempt fate at this stage by suggesting that he cannot overcome what, admittedly, appears on many fronts to be insurmountable difficulties. Such difficulties have been approached and overcome in the last couple of years and I hope the same will happen this time.
I do not want to deviate from the question but the Senator will recognise the contribution Mr. Gorbachev has made to bringing about changes in the world and in ending the Cold War. He has also been very instrumental in bringing about the developments which have taken place in Eastern Europe. The domestic problems in these countries are not as complex as those in his country. I do not want to say much more about this other than to say I would not want the Senator's view to be taken as representative of the view of all people here.
The Minister for Tourism and Transport has had extensive contacts with major international airlines in recent months about inaugurating new services to Ireland from the US. He is anxious to open up new gateways from the US into Ireland and see existing services expanded as a means of facilitating access for additional US visitors to Ireland.
The Government's target of doubling tourism numbers in the period 1988-92 and, in the process, creating 25,000 new jobs is an ambitious one. This target has been met so far but it gets more difficult each year. The one area where we are underperforming is North America which is one of the prime tourist markets. There are obvious reasons for this under-performance at present, including the recession in the US and the weakness of the dollar. Nonetheless we must continue to seek increased market share from the United States.
In this context the Minister for Tourism and Transport has recently indicated to Aeroflot his approval for a fifth freedom service between Shannon and Miami. I hope the new service which will commence in April next will bring many more US visitors to Ireland. In addition, Delta Airlines have indicated that next summer their service from Atlanta to Shannon and Dublin will operate daily.
I want to reiterate to the House the commitment of the Government to the future development of Shannon Airport and the Shannon region as a major centre of economic growth. Like Senator Ó Foighil we would like to see dynamic regions like Shannon being developed throughout the country.
I should like to thank the Minister for his comments. I spoke earlier of the insecure position of Mr. Gorbachev. In a way all of us in politics are insecure and I do not think it is a question of his demise. I wish the Minister a happy Christmas and I am glad of his support to this issue.
The Seanad adjourned sine die.