I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 11 together.
There have been a number of developments that will impact on the mid-west region and the roles of the respective State agencies operating there. I draw attention, in particular, to the proposed relocation of the headquarters of Enterprise Ireland, involving 300 of the agency's Dublin based staff to Shannon, as part of the Government decentralisation programme. Shannon Development provides support for indigenous businesses in the Shannon region on behalf of Enterprise Ireland, there is the decision to establish an independent Shannon Airport Authority and the enterprise strategy group, which reported in July, has recommended that Shannon Development should disengage from industrial development functions which should be left to the national agencies, that is, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland.
A number of meetings took place between my predecessor and Shannon Development in recent months to discuss these developments and their implications for the future of the company. I emphasise that Shannon Development fully supports the decision to establish an independent airport authority which it sees as vital to the economic development of the region. Furthermore, it has agreed that the company should refocus its activities on the airport with a view to generating business for the airport and the company's assets should be used to support the airport authority particularly in its early, vulnerable years. A working group representative of my Department, the Department of Transport and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, Shannon Development and the Shannon Airport Authority was also set up to examine the specific issue of how Shannon Development could best contribute to the development of the new independent airport in this regard.
A number of options have been under consideration by the working group, including a possible transfer of responsibility for managing the Shannon free zone industrial estate to the new airport authority. I stress that no decisions have been taken. I am in the process of reviewing the deliberations of the working group in the context of the overall developments I have outlined.
In terms of the specifics of the question, I understand the Shannon free zone yielded a gross rental income of approximately €10.4 million in 2003. The costs associated with the management and operation of the zone have not been taken into account in the calculation of this figure.