Shannon Airport’s new board

EDITORIAL
NEW people with new ideas and highly experienced in their respective fields, have been appointment to the board of Shannon Airport Authority (SAA). It’s an important step, a key moment, as the airport enjoys its third month of independence.

 

There’s been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with the airport authority and prospective customers since early January and new business has been secured, with other deals at an advanced stage. New services to destinations such as Faro in Portugal, Philadelphia, Chicago and Glasgow are set to begin in a matter of months, while seasonal services to New York and Boston will also resume.

Chairperson Rose Hynes, airport director Mary Considine and Pat Dalton, chief financial officer at investment company One51, now have much-needed assistance on the board to further advance Shannon’s progress.

Beefing up the board are US-based public policy consultant and transport expert, Kathryn O’Leary Higgins; managing director of Clare FM and Tipp FM, Liam O’Shea and Shannon Airport worker-directors Joe Buckley and Kevin McCarthy. Between them they have proven records in policy consultancy in transport, media and indepth knowledge of airport operations for 35 years.

Acknowledging the calibre of personnel that have joined the board, Ms Hynes said, “The new directors provide us with the type of expertise and experience that is required to deliver the strategic vision for the airport, which is around achieving significant passenger growth and the development of the International Aviation Services Centre at Shannon over the next five years.”

Ms O’Leary Higgins, a public policy expert with specific expertise in transport, has extensive experience working in various US government departments for more than 30 years. Among those she worked closely with was the late Senator Edward Kennedy, one of Ireland’s strongest advocates in the US.

On occasions, Ms O’Leary Higgins’ work brought her into discussions with the White House cabinet and the president. Her networking skills among US contacts could prove invaluable for Shannon.

Managing director of both Clare FM and Tipp FM, Liam O’Shea has an intimate knowledge of the media industry, which is so important in getting the Shannon message out. He is also chairman and a director of Spin South West, which has become the most listened to radio station by the youth of the region. Having begun his career in RTÉ, he worked in various radio and TV stations around the world.

Rejoining the board, Joe Buckley has worked all his life at the airport and has been to the forefront of countless campaigns to sustain its future. He was appointed by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar to the Shannon Change Management Task Force.

Kevin McCarthy is another man with a long background in fighting for the airport. A member of the airport’s Police and Fire Service for over 30 years, he is president of SIPTU’s National Civil Aviation Section, chairman of its National Aviation Committee and president of its Shannon Aviation Section.

The new SAA board members’ collective experience and business acumen bodes well for the future. Making Shannon your airport of choice whenever possible would be a big statement of support for the new board.

Huge divide in farm payments

THE haves and have nots exist across all sections of society and this week we highlight the huge differential between what Clare farmers receive under the Single Farm Payment Scheme (SFP), in addition to other benefits.

At the top end, 10 Clare farmers shared almost €839,000 between them last year in SFP, while at the lower end of the scale, one farmer received less than €82.

Add in payment for REPS, now the Agri-Environmental Option Scheme (AEOS) and the Suckler Cow Scheme and some farmers received over €100,000 through the post. In fact, one farmer, with a combination of SFP and AEOS, collected over €130,000 in 2012.

The biggest single payment under the SFP was €99,299.50; in the AEOS it was €41,391.60, while the biggest payment in the Suckler Cow Scheme was €7,247.63. In stark contrast, the lowest Suckler Cow payment was a mere €26.80.

The figures have emerged from a Clare Champion examination of Department of Agriculture statistics on payments to Clare farmers over the past couple of years.

The level of payments from the mid to low-table underlines the difficulty in sustaining farming as a viable way of life. Despite subventions, which come from EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds, paid by way of the Government, even mid-table farmers are finding the going very tough.

The level of income support is a broad indicator of the scale and type of enterprise on the land, you might expect. Not quite so. The reason for such a large disparity between top and bottom has not been helped by the fact that assessments are fixed on production levels of 10 years ago. It fails to take account of current production levels on all farms; proportionately, smaller farms could well have a higher productivity level than one with larger acreages.

Clare IFA chairman, Andrew Dundas, in reflecting his organisation’s position, said there must be a reform of the current CAP system to introduce equity.

The IFA wants a unit system whereby farmers would be rewarded for showing initiative and enterprise and providing units of employment.

Farmers can come to have holdings of varying size for many reasons, such as inheritance, expansion or purchase and set up from scratch.

Very large farms nowadays operate like high-tech industries and run on economy of scale. However, it is not appropriate in a place like Clare that they become too common.

It’s vital that farm and rural community organisations remain supportive of the small to medium farmers. They are a critical element of the social structure of any area. Each time a farmer has to leave the land, a little piece of Ireland is lost forever.