This article is from page 10 of the 2007-08-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
CLARE’S most senior politician, Minister for State Tony Killeen (FF), said he does not see the return of the Aer Lingus slots to Shannon unless a new deal is negotiated.
“I haven’t given up hope that Aer Lingus will look at the business ar- gument anew,” he said.
“But I don’t see that Aer Lingus will come back as things stand. It would only come back if it could show shareholders a better business arrangement had been agreed.”
The Minister for State at the De- partment of the Environment pointed to the failure of Aer Lingus manage- ment in its argument that the profit margins out of Shannon were low.
He said that claims of a high load factor and a low profit margin points to the failure of management at the airline.
Minister Killeen said however, “I don’t think we are in a position to rule out options.”
Minister Killeen, who in the early 1990s resigned the party whip over the ending of the compulsory Shan- non stopover, does not believe that
this move is necessary this time.
‘| have seen no evidece that resign- ing by anyone at any level would have services restored,” he said.
New Fianna Fail TD Timmy Doo- ley said he “would reserve all op- tions” when asked if he would resign his seat if the Government did not secure vital Heathrow slot for Shan- non airport.
Deputy Dooley, said, “the Govern- ment has a duty to protect the indus-
trial base of this region. While the Government seems to be indicating a lack of responsibility in the move by Aer Lingus to Belfast, it clearly is a matter for the Government to resolve under its commitment to regional de- velopment.”
“If this requires emergency legisla- tion then this should happen now,” he Sr nKOe
“In order to protect and underpin Government policy on balanced re- gional development and to protect the industry and tourism base of the region the Government must act now to ring fence direct connectivity.”
“The air bridge between Shannon and Heathrow is equally important as the new Limerick Tunnel or the West Link toll bridge on the East Coast.
“The government needs to act ina manner that would take ownership of the access route in the same way as it purchased the West Link toll bridge. This is absolutely critical now in or- der to give confidence and stability to the business community in the mid west region”.