Madam, - I refer to the comments of Éamon Ó Cuív, minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, regarding the unilateral decision by Aer Lingus to terminate the Shannon-Heathrow service from January 13th, 2008. He urges the business community in the west of Ireland to "stop wasting time on what might have been and to plan for the future" (The Irish Times, October 1st).
I can assure Mr Ó Cuív that we in the Shannon Action Group are not wasting time on "what might have been". That phrase implies perhaps the broken promise of an aspiration for the future. The facts are that Aer Lingus has the Shannon-London Heathrow route since April 1960 and there has been unprecedented prosperity in the previously undeveloped west of Ireland. The connection to Heathrow and beyond was the single factor that promoted development and the growth of industry and commerce in the west and this in turn encouraged Aer Lingus to develop its service from a once-daily 72-seat Viscount in 1960 to a four-times-daily 174-seat Airbus A320 today.
The Shannon-Heathrow service is an intrinsic part of the infrastructure of the west of Ireland. It is on a par with the N7 road and the rail link to Dublin. The real waste of time for us in the west would be to accede to the Fianna Fáil government and do nothing to fight to retain our connectivity.
Mr Ó Cuív also says that "it is only by all of us working for the common good and sharing a vision for the whole country in a positive manner, rather than each region being divided against each other in a bitter rivalry, that we will progress". Perhaps he is unaware of the recent poll, highlighted by RTÉ's Prime Time last Thursday, which indicated that those questioned in both the east coast and the west coast felt that the Aer Lingus decision went against the common good.
The vision we share here in the west of Ireland is a downturn in prosperity as industry relocates to regions which offer better connections - unless the Government intervenes to halt this commercially inexplicable decision. We are working for the common good by asking the Government to act on behalf of the people of the west.
We aim to progress into the future with our connectivity as set out in the articles of association in the prospectus for the sale of Aer Lingus, a clause specifically included to protect the valuable Heathrow slots reached from Dublin, Cork and Shannon. Bitter rivalry between the regions will be brought to the surface if our connectivity is lost and industry follows our slots out of this jurisdiction.
Mr Ó Cuív has cadenced his own mantra with all the stamina of a cantor, urging us to "move on". I challenge him and his fellow Fianna Fáil party members to "get a move on", face Aer Lingus and use their 25 per cent shareholding to bring about the retention of the Shannon-Heathrow link. It is nine weeks since the Aer Lingus decision was announced and as yet the Government has failed to find a solution. The solution is simple. Retain connectivity. Retain Aer Lingus. - Yours, etc,
TONY KINNANE, Chairman, Shannon Action Group, Shannon Airport, Co Clare.