Dempsey warns of overstating Shannon impact

TRANSPORT Minister Noel Dempsey yesterday stood by his comments that some claims made about the impact of the loss of the Shannon to Heathrow service were “exaggerated”.

He argued that overstating the impact might cause damage to the region, adding that it was not in anybody’s interests to create an impression that there was devastation. His comments amounted to a mild public dressing down of Cabinet colleague Defence Minister Willie O’Dea.

He said that some of Mr O’Dea’s comments — including his “Armageddon” remark and his claim that the transport minister was not getting good advice — were among the “scarier statements”.

At its first meeting after the summer holidays, the Cabinet yesterday confirmed it would not try to reverse the Aer Lingus decision to transfers Heathrow slots to Belfast from next January.

Instead, the 11 ministers including Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, expressed “disappointment” at the decision and asked Mr Dempsey to do all in his power to secure an alternative service to London Heathrow.

But later Mr Dempsey made efforts to inject a sense of realism into the debate. He pointed out that talks with other airlines, including CityJet, BMI and KLM, were still very tentative.

Privately, the Government is not confident that European airport or route development funds from the EU will be available for the Shannon to Heathrow services on the basis that the route was profitable.

It has also ruled out the Government buying or leasing slots on the grounds of expense and that it may fall foul of State aids.

Mr Dempsey reiterated that his priority was in finding a replacement airline and agreed that the deal would have to be done by mid-January.

The minister agreed that there had been “some impact” on the Shannon region and referred to the Atlantic ConnectivityAlliance’s arguments that onward connections to the Far East and Asia will be lost. He added that the Government had retained its stake in the airline to blockhostile takeovers — like Ryanair’s last autumn — and to ensure the Heathrow slots were not disposed of.

The Atlantic ConnectivityAlliance welcomed the Government’s “more conciliatory approach”. However, its chairman John Brassil said that the Government seemed to accept the grave consequences for business and tourism if Shannon loses its Heathrow services.

“There is a real urgencyrequired to find a solution to this serious issue but it must be asolution that is ring-fenced and ensures that the regions are not vulnerable again to the loss ofvital one-stop connectivity to key international markets that Heathrow provides,” he said.