Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government states the Government will "Conduct a review of National Aviation Policy to maximise use of our airports". When can we expect this review to take place and conclude? Some 86% of people who fly from this State do so from Dublin Airport and for transport flights it might be even higher than that. Several weeks ago the management of Shannon Airport called for the re-examination of aviation policy and requested the passenger cap in the regional airport programme be increased. Last year, for instance, over 2 million passengers used Shannon Airport, placing it outside the programme. As the Minister knows, Shannon has the capacity to easily take up to 5 million passengers without much work there. We really need a more balanced approach to Irish aviation and the conclusion of this review is the first step. The capacity is there. We need to allow airports outside Dublin to flourish and part of that includes rebalancing flights away from Dublin to Shannon. When can we expect this review to be concluded?

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