Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton. I am glad that the Minister is looking at rolling out the digital green certificate as quickly as he can. He spoke in the context of people being vaccinated. However, he qualified that by stating "the epidemiological conditions, including status of variants of concern, must also be favourable for international travel to return, and for the current advice against non-essential travel to be lifted within Europe and with third countries". The question is what will decide that and what the metrics around that are. I principally want to speak about Shannon Airport. We heard the shocking news last week that Aer Lingus will be closing its cabin crew base for 81 staff at Shannon Airport, which it announced prior to any international plan from the Government. That has huge implications for the airport, the workers and their families. We passed the pilots while coming in here and they want certainty.

I will ask three things of the Minister. First, I ask that the reopening plan deal with the common travel area and that it coincides with the digital green certificate coming on stream on 1 July. I appreciate that there are variants but we need to move away from a binary model that is heavy on quarantine and towards a risk-based model. We need some form of quarantine but it should be very limited and it should not be a binary decision. Second, I understand that Aer Lingus, like many airlines, is going through cash and will burn more of it when it gets going again.

In respect of the Minister's discussions with Aer Lingus, any funding which comes from the State must be accompanied by preconditions in respect of the base at Shannon Airport and the retention of workers there. We must also ensure that we retain connectivity through the flights to and landing slots at Heathrow Airport. In addition, transatlantic flights are vital for us. Therefore, what I want to hear regarding the Minister's discussions with Aer Lingus is that he has got commitments from the airline concerning the cabin crew, connectivity through Heathrow and transatlantic flights. There must be certainty in that regard because of the impact of Shannon Airport on our region. The stakes are very high along the western seaboard.

We have many multinational companies, a huge reliance on tourism and Shannon Airport is the key economic driver, and central to all that is Aer Lingus. Therefore, what I want to see today are details regarding the reopening plans which will be announced on 1 July, and from that period onwards. Included in those plans should be the resumption of Aer Lingus flights, as quickly as possible, from Shannon Airport to Heathrow Airport, as well as transatlantic flights. Equally, any funds provided by the State to the airline, which it will need, must be accompanied by a quid pro quo, as I have set out.

We are an island nation and not everything ends at the Red Cow. A great deal happens outside Dublin. We want to ensure that can all continue, and exponentially. If we do not have connectivity in the mid-west via Aer Lingus flights to Heathrow Airport, our transatlantic flights and our cabin crew base in Shannon Airport, we will be at a major disadvantage and operating with one arm behind our back. We are at a critical juncture and I ask the Minister to get those commitments from Aer Lingus in respect of any funding provided.

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