THE Mayor of Limerick Cllr Daniel Butler, as well as Clare TD Cathal Crow, and Clare councillor John Crowe, has called on the government to appoint a new chairperson of the Shannon Group immediately.
The Shannon Group, which comprises of Shannon Airport, Shannon Heritage, Shannon Commercial Properties and Shannon IASC, which recently acquired the rights to king John’s Castle, Bunratty Castle and the Cliffs of Moher visiting Centre.
The Shannon Group have been without a chairperson, since Rose Hynes stepped down from the role in August of 2020.
The government had carried out a recruitment campaign for the position and had appointed Aaron Forde to the position in late February of this year
But would resign hours after the announcement due to disparaging comments on social media made about social welfare recipients, calling them a traveller slur, as well as make disgusting generalisations about the traveller community at large.
Mayor Butler said regarding this inability to fill the position: “It is almost a year now since Rose Hynes stepped down as chair of the Shannon Group, and it is crucial the government acts immediately.”
“The Shannon Group is a key organisation for the entire region. The aviation sector has been decimated due to the Covid-19 pandemic and we need someone who is visionary and innovative to take the helm of the Shannon Group to help rebuild the sector in the mid-west.”
“We need to have the structures in place to take advantage of any upswing in the sector as the world begins to live with Covid and more people begin to travel again.”
“The government has been stalling the process since the unfortunate debacle earlier this year, but I’m calling on the Minister for Transport[Eamon Ryan] now to move on this position straight away, to allow the mid-west region to adapt and plan for the future with clear objectives and goals.”
“The Shannon Group is already undergoing some major changes, with King John’s Castle and its other Shannon Heritage sites currently under its remit in the process of being transferred the local authorities. Now is the time for the government to act.”
This sentiment was echoed by newly elected Clare TD, Cathal Crowe, whose constituents are as dependent on the Shannon group, as Limerick people are. Commented on this situation saying: “I’ve to meet Minister Ryan, this is a matter I hope to raise with him”.
Clare county council have alongside Mayor Butler, called for the seat to be filled, with the councillors putting forward Limerick native Pat Dowling to the position. With the council saying: “It is vital that the Local Authority is represented on this important Board as we rebuild Shannon Airport in the wake of Covid-19 as our driver of economic activity in the Mid-West.
There must be hope that this united multi-county pressure on the government will be able to fill this position this time around, without resorting to backward individuals, like Mr Forde.
