TRANSPORT Minister, Leo Varadkar is facing some tough questions this weekend when he l addresses Shannon Chamber of Commerce. Encouraging tourism providers, operators and the business community to take time out to meet the Minister and voice their opinions on Shannon’s future, Shannon Chamber President Damian Gleeson says: “opinions only turn into action when they are heard by the decision makers. While the Minister has spoken to Chamber executives in advance of publishing the recent Booz & Co. Report, this will be his first opportunity to meet with the business community at Shannon,
“This is possibly the last opportunity for engagement on a very pertinent issue for the Mid West region before the final decision is made,” said Mr Gleeson.
In a presentation to the Minister earlier this year, Shannon Chamber made the case that Shannon Airport should be separated from its current structure but remain under some other form of State “protection” / ownership to ensure its survival as a key piece of national Infrastructure, for the Mid West in particular.
“We emphasised that the airport should be run with a commercially driven ethos – which, in conjunction with no debt, adequate working capital and an improvement of its cost structure would eventually allow it to be self-sustaining,” the chamber president said.
‘Of the two options now recommended by Booz & Company, the scenario whereby Shannon moves to a local concession model giving a role to the local authorities in Clare and Limerick, to local commercial interests and to Shannon Development in a holding company, offers the most potential for Shannon’s future development. It places decision making for the airport’s future at a local level,” he added.
The Chamber members and business are hoping that the Minister, in his address, will elaborate on the findings of the Booz and Company report.
The event is being sponsored by a key Shannon company, DB Schenker and supported by AerCap and Shannon Airport Authority.
