Mattie McGrath: Lift Dublin Airport Cap, Back Regional Airports

I'm happy to speak in this motion this evening. This week's debate on Dublin Airport, passenger capacity cap, must be obviously lifted. But obviously there's fundamental questions here. And you know, there are a lot of issues besides Dublin, it can't all be about Dublin in the first place. And that's what it has been. And that's what, you know, a huge investment in Dublin, we don't begrudge them one bit. But we need to have a more balanced regional report. What I am supporting is lifting up the cap. For years, policy and investment has been overwhelmingly focused on the capital. While our regional airports, Cork, Shannon indeed, Knock, and of course, the Remington, Kerry, but also Waterford now, and we're welcome the investments going on there as well. So great potential for the people in the southeast. They've all been, remained underutilised, despite being efficient, modern, and easy to get to. And I want to compliment the staff there, easy to grow as well. Passengers across the south and midwest are paying the price. They face long journeys to Dublin, traffic gridlock on the M50s have just come through just in the last hour and a half, two hours myself, and excessive costs with car parking at Dublin airport. Longer queues, bigger crowds, and more stressful journeys, that's for sure, they are more stressful. Cork and Shannon airports serve vast regions, including County Tipperary, yet they're not being supported in a balanced way. And we must have more balanced region development, we have to have it, it's imperative, we cannot have it. Communities want to fly locally, businesses to the south and south-west don't want to face a two to four hour journey from the airport to wherever they are in Ireland, and are visiting, yet they are being given very little choice with the limited flights under the use of these other airports. And we must look at a better timetable for those airports and Waterford when it's completed, the investment at the present, and I compliment the private investor there, and Ottawa, and indeed, my former colleague here, Deputy Mayor Shanahan, was a lobbyist on a daily basis in the here for Waterford airport. So instead of continuing to overload Dublin, we should be investing in and promoting regional airports as available alternatives. But everything in this country appears to revolve around Dublin, as I said at the start, why the people in Dublin don't want increased passenger numbers, and you can't blame them either, they have issues and problems. The DEA must answer a simple question, how can it justify seeking ever higher passenger numbers in Dublin, while Cork and Shannon remain significantly underused? That's an obvious question, anyone that was in the business would look at that and see what we can do with that. A fair and balanced aviation strategy is essential for regional development as far as the public are concerned. So Minister, we're going to have to, and I remember the debate here, I met him today actually, the former Minister Shane Rush, I wish him well, met him today in Clonmel, signing his book, and this morning, so when he had the debate here as well, that's a while ago now, it's an ongoing issue, I know you've grasped it a little, Minister, nobody wants you to do that, you're a good man to take on issues, and this has to be sorted out, but long-term, we must be understanding of the regions of Ireland, the south-east, with Waterloo as I said, the south and south-west with Limerick, and Shannon and Cork. I mean Cork Airport, or Shannon, either of them, there are dozens to go through, the staff are very helpful there, and you're in and you're out, you're not stuck in queues for hours and hours in traffic, and in the queue you're going to be there three hours in advance for transatlantic flights, it's just, it's way too much, and it's frustrating, and it's not a pleasant journey, so that's for us, ourselves, thinking about it, so if we expect investors to come in here, or people, you know, to come in to invest in our country, we need them to have a seamless travel, and to be able to come in and get to the regions where we want the industry, without any undue delay held up on airports and held up on traffic, so, míle buíochas dais. Go raibh míle maith agat.