This article is from page 11 of the 2007-05-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
INDEPENDENT TD James Breen SEISMW se NW OLecO MO OFLU Slom @cOn/orusbestoIIMAY el suffer if Clare isn’t compensated for the Open Skies aviation deal, which was ratified in the Dail this week.
The Minister for Transport, Mar- tin Cullen, said that the Government would deliver an economic plan for Shannon to support the region.
But Deputy Breen said that Clare was long overdue a pay-off to make up for decades of neglect.
“IT guarantee the minister that if that payback is not announced in the near future, the Government will get its own payback in spades in the forthcoming election.
“The Minister has let Shannon and the mid west down and has sold us down the river.
“Shannon is the one airport for which Open Skies represents a major negative and the minister can only wash his hands of it.
“If he was serious with regard to securing the future of Shannon and the mid west, this fund and other packages would have been put in place before the Open Skies agree- ment was announced.”
He added, “The lack of proper
measures means that the Shannon area can expect a 30 per cent drop in trade. The shortening of the intro- ductory period leading into the start date of the Open Skies agreement confirms the apathy with which this administration views the mid west.
“In the immediate aftermath of the announcement of the agreement, Aer Lingus announced new routes to San Francisco, Orlando and Washington. Significantly, all of those routes will operate from Dublin Airport.
‘There is no doubt that this agree- ment will lead to a cherry-picking of routes by airlines.
‘Much was made of the establish- ment of customs and immigration clearance in Shannon and this was trumpeted as a jewel in the crown of SI erVeveCOye MAURO DKen
‘However, it now transpires that a similar station will operate out of Dublin Airport within a year. This is further proof of the minister’s con- tempt for the mid west.
Speaking on the issue, Pat Breen (FG) said, “The minister had a gold- en opportunity to announce the im- plementation of the tourism and de- velopment plan but failed to do so.
“We’ve had enough photo opportu- nities. We need action.”