Shannon hub plea for travel tax cash

REPRESENTATIVES of the various local authorities in the Mid-West have come together to request that some of the millions raised from the €10 air travel tax be used for the development of an international cargo hub at Shannon.
Mayors from Clare, Limerick City and County and North Tipperary met with Transport Minister Noel Dempsey on Wednesday afternoon, while Mid-Western Regional Authority (MWRA) director Liam Conneally also attended.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Conneally said, “Shannon’s unrestricted runway, round-the-clock operation, efficient handling and the presence of many of the major global logistics firms provide air cargo/freight options unavailable at any other Irish airport.
“There is no doubt that the construction and operation of an international hub by Lynx would consolidate the operation of existing multinationals in the region as well as help attract inward investment from other multinationals.”
MWRA chairman Leo Walsh said the development of the cargo hub was vital. “We emphasised the requirement for urgent Government investment in the proposed cargo hub as an existing Memorandum of Understanding between major international cargo handler Lynx and the Shannon Airport Authority is due to expire in mid 2010.
“We stressed that the Government has a clear opportunity to help secure the future of Shannon Airport and the creation of hundreds of jobs in the West of Ireland. It is estimated that between four and five million euro is required to put the necessary infrastructure in place at Shannon to deliver the Lynx project.”
Mayor of Clare Tony Mulcahy said he had asked the minister to support the continued marketing of Shannon’s US customs and border protection pre-clearance facilities.
“On behalf of the delegation, I informed the minister that without the specialist marketing of the pre-clearance facilities, there is a danger that his vision and work to deliver this facility to the Shannon Region will not be fully realised for the benefit of the region.
“I stressed that the importance of increasing Government support of specific marketing initiatives, such as the targeting of the Nordic countries, Lithuania, Austria and Poland, none of which have direct transatlantic services.”
Deputy Mayor of Limerick Denis McCarthy also stressed the importance of marketing. “While the attraction of new airlines and route development is a must for the airport, tourism marketing and tourism product development are also necessary, as is the specialised marketing of the customs and border control facility at Shannon.
“We told the minister that to assist Shannon’s plight in dealing with open skies, the Shannon Airport Catchment Fund for 2010 should be dedicated to marketing the actual catchment area of the airport. We suggested that to maximise the effect of the fund, the Shannon Airport Authority and Shannon Development partnership, as opposed to Tourism Ireland, should have control of the fund.”