Edward Nealon
Ceist:165 Mr. Nealon asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications if his attention has been drawn to the grave threat of closure of Sligo Airport because of unsustainable financial losses that would be incurred with the reduction of scheduled flights to one day between Sligo and Dublin, that such a closure would have extremely serious consequences for the economic and social development in the entire north west region, particularly for tourism, manufacturing industry and future inward investment in the area, that a regional airport in a peripheral area like Sligo in the north west is of added importance because of the recent developments in the European Community; if the Government intend to provide the assistance to enable this regional airport to remain open in the first place and to undertake the various developments to guarantee a viable long term future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.