Tag Archives: Shannon airport

WEAPONS have been routinely carried through Shannon by the US military, it was claimed at Ennis District Court on Tuesday, during a hearing into a case against TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly. During evidence, Irish Times security analyst, Tom Clonan played a recording taken from a plane at Shannon, which advised soldiers to leave their weapons on board. Also, a former Irish army officer warned that missiles that were brought through the airport on one occasion could have resulted in it being blown up, along with much of the adjacent Shannon Industrial Estate. Mr Wallace, 59, of Clontarf Road, Dublin 3, and Ms Daly, 46, of Elmwood Drive, Swords, Dublin, are accused of climbing a perimeter fence at Shannon Airport and entering a part of the airport to which they were not permitted on July 22 of last year, contrary to the Airport Bylaws of 1994. While the case is being contested, neither have denied that they entered restricted …

Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has today (Wednesday) outlined his position in relation to the current proposed offer from IAG for a takeover of Aer Lingus. “The issue of the IAG proposed takeover is complex, in that the best interests of the taxpayer must be balanced against long-term strategic regional development and connectivity. We have consistently stated that as a Government we will not rush to sell our minority shareholding unless the market conditions and terms of the sale were favourable to our stated policy interests. As an island, it is crucial we maintain and grow our aviation links given that 80% of passenger movements in and out of Ireland are by air. Coupled with this, Aer Lingus has long been of strategic and economic importance to Ireland, supporting significant numbers of jobs and in the top 50 of Irish employers. “As a Government we have considered and discussed carefully all aspects of this proposed takeover. As a County …

GUNS have routinely been carried through Shannon by the US military, it was claimed at Tuesday’s hearing into a case against TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly. Also at the hearing a former Irish army officer warned that missiles brought through the airport on one occasion could have resulted in it being blown up, along with much of the neighbouring industiral estate. Deputy Mick Wallace of Clontarf Road, Dublin 3 and Clare Daly of Elmwood Drive, Swords, Dublin are both accused of climbing a perimeter fence at Shannon Airport and entering a part of the airport to which they were not permitted on July 22 of last year, contrary to the Airport Byelaws of 1994.                 While the case is being contested neither have denied that they did enter restricted parts of the airport by climbing a fence, indeed at one point in Tuesday’s sitting Mr Wallace jokingly asked for the return of …

TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace are due to appear before Ennis District Court on Tuesday morning in relation to an alleged “illegal entrance” to a restricted area of Shannon Airport last July. Shannonwatch has issued a call for people to to come to the court to support the TDs , “who attempted to inspect a US military plane at Shannon”. “Their alleged offence is illegal entrance into a restricted area of the airport, and their action was in response to the failure of the authorities to inspect US aircraft at Shannon,” said a Shannonwatch spokesman. Shannonwatch have repeatedly called for an end to the US military use of Shannon. They also call for inspection of all military and suspected CIA aircraft at the airport for as long as they are being allowed to pass through. “Clare Daly and Mick Wallace have made it clear that as legislators and as citizens they have a responsibility to uphold Irish neutrality. They …

WHEN Aer Lingus announced it was removing Heathrow slots from Shannon in 2007 it was a hugely controversial move, strongly opposed by business and political interests in Clare. At the time there was speculation that the move was being made due to a secret agreement hammered out by the Government, as part of the peace process. There was little explanation from the airline itself, beyond saying that it was a commercial decision, something that many in Clare didn’t accept given the relatively high numbers that were using it. However, when Willie Walsh came before the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications last week he indicated that Aer Lingus took the decision because a competitor, presumably Ryanair, was being offered more favourable terms. Mr Walsh referred to the matter, saying it may be the reason for the current concern about connectivity. “I can understand the concern that has been expressed, particularly the concern expressed in Shannon because of what happened with …

IN the run up to Willie Walsh’s appearance at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications it was noticeable that while IAG were offering to guarantee that the Aer Lingus Heathrow slots would be used on Irish routes, they were making no commitments to serve Shannon or Cork. However that changed last Thursday, as after a little pressure, Mr Walsh confirmed that he was offering guarantees of five years of connectivity for the two airports. Mr Walsh also said that as it stands Shannon or Cork have no such guarantees, and that a takeover actually gives them greater certainty. While some of the Committee members asked him about giving an even longer guarantee, he insisted there is absolutely no way that he will do so. Early in the sitting Mr Walsh rubbished claims that any guarantees on connectivity would not be enforceable. “I have heard people say they are not worth the paper they are not worth the paper …

A delegation of County Councillors from the West of Ireland met with Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Pascal Donohue, T.D., in Dublin this afternoon to express their concerns about the proposed sale of Aer Lingus to IAG. The meeting was organised by Councillor John Crowe, Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council who was joined in Leinster House by Damien Ryan, Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council and Michael Fitzgerald , Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council. While unable to attend this afternoon’s meeting, the Mayors of Limerick, Galway and Kerry have also backed the message delivered to the Minister which outlined that elected members in the West rejected any commitment from IAG that does not “explicitly guarantee” Aer Lingus’ long term commitment to services between Shannon Airport and London Heathrow, as well as transatlantic services. “At today’s meeting we stressed the necessity of securing a 15-year guarantee from IAG in respect of Shannon’s Heathrow slots and service levels as the 5-year guarantee …

ALREADY contentious, Shannon based Fine Gael Senator Tony Mulcahy has turned up the political heat regarding the potential sale of the State’s share in Aer Lingus, as he has vowed to resign the party whip if the Government does sell to IAG. He made his comments after IAG CEO Willie Walsh addressed the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. Mr Walsh told the Committee that in the event of an IAG takeover, Shannon would get a five-year guarantee of Heathrow connectivity. However, after being quizzed by Senator Mulcahy, he acknowledged that he was not offering any guarantees around the preservation of the Aer Lingus services between Shannon and the US. While Mr Walsh did say that transatlantic services from Shannon have “huge potential” and that the numbers travelling on them are likely to increase in the summertime, this didn’t cut much ice with Senator Mulcahy. In a statement released shortly after the Committee sitting he said, “I cannot support …