THE DAA is to have considerable involvement in steering Shannon Airport in a new direction.Earlier this year it was decided that the Mid West airport would be removed from the grasp of the Dublin Airport Authority, but it has been revealed that the body will have significant input on the steering group.
The group will also be charged with the restructuring of Shannon Development and the realignment of tourism and enterprise support functions in the region.
In a draft release issued to ministers, deputies and senators in the Mid West it emerged that there will be an overall steering group jointly chaired by department of transport secretary general, Tom O’Mahony, and department of jobs secretary general, John Murphy, as well as senior officials from those departments and from the departments of finance, public expenditure and environment.
The group will operate in conjunction with the DAA, which will submit a plan for the operational and financial readiness of the DAA group once the separation is finalised.
The steering group will oversee the work of two task forces.
The first will seek out and evaluate aviation linked business opportunities and will be chaired by Rose Hynes, a former senior member of Guinness Peat Aviation and the boards of Aer Lingus and Shannon Airport Authority.
The second task force will develop proposals for transitional arrangements and for the appropriate corporate, managerial and operational structures of the new entity, and will be chaired by John Fitzgerald, former Dublin city manager and current chair of the National Transport Authority, An Post and the Limerick Regeneration Project.
The level of DAA involvement has been criticised locally, but Senator Tony Mulcahy believes that all invested members must be represented.
“I’m happy with the formation of the group; the purpose is to bring together the IDA, Shannon Development and the Shannon Airport Authority so it is imperative that all body’s have input,” he told the Limerick Post.
“Not only will they be working on the airport but on the industrial estate to create tax incentives for aviation and the development of a composites centre, which could be key for the future of Shannon.
“It’s important that the group is supported”.
Members of Clare County Council had sought representation on the steering group but have not been included.
