Mid-West firms threaten to end support

THE Atlantic Technology Corridor, which represents 300 firms in the mid-West, says it will withdraw it support for Government policy if there are any changes to the Shannon stopover.

The ATC said it was concerned that the Government had entered talks last week that could lead to the ending of the Shannon stopover to the US. It said that it not received any commitment on the development of the region if this happens without firms plans to support the region and attract investment.

The ATC put forward a number of proposals a year ago to grow employment in the region over the next five years.

Among the ATC's proposals were:

Speeding up the completion of the N18 to Galway.

A marketing strategy to promote the western corridor in key markets such as the US.

A commitment from Aer Lingus to support year round services between Shannon and the US.

A financially strong independent board with statutory authority at Shannon Airport should be established.

The body, whose members employ 22,000 people, said it has not received any commitment yet on any of the issues raised and was increasingly concerned about the threat to investment in the region.

It said the failure to adopt and implement key regional development issues before the renegotiation of the dual gateway status will transform the region to an economic black spot, causing employment to stagnate and decline.

ATC chief executive Ollie Daniels said he estimated that the number of flights from Shannon to the US will drop from 50 per week to just seven when the stopover is renegotiated and this would have disastrous consequences for the airport.

"Our plans to foster and develop further direct foreign investment into the region will become redundant if Shannon Airport is allowed to decline. The future of the airport looks very grim should an open skies policy be adopted before the implementation of a development strategy making the airport more accessible."

While ATC said it was worried about the future of Shannon, the Minister for transport Seamus Brennan has said he was confident that the stopover will end on a phased basis. After meeting his US counterpart last month Mr Brennan said inserting a clause into the "open skies" policy to protect Shannon was a possibility.

One plan proposed by Minister Brennan for the airport's future was for it to attract a low fares carrier to the US or become a global cargo and freight hub.

He has already appointed a chairman and board of the Shannon Airport Authority and the legislation paving the way for the break-up of Aer Rianta, which will give Shannon autonomy is due to be published soon.