International aid hub plan offers jobs hope
Dozens of jobs could be created at the planned depot and hundreds more in the airline, train and shipping sectors, which would be involved in transporting disaster relief aid to Shannon and around the world.
The project could also serve to mitigate the economic impact on Shannon of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan at the end of next year.
US soldiers have been transferred to Afghanistan and Iraq via Shannon for more than a decade.
Trade and Development Minister Joe Costello has commissioned a feasibility study on the project, which forms part of the Programme for Government.
According to Mr Costello, such a hub would be used by other European countries, charities and NGOs to store disaster relief aid and would allow the easy and efficient dispatch of goods to the US, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, and other parts of Northern Europe in the event of a natural disaster.
The minister has sought the backing of European commissioners and will bring the completed feasibility study to the relevant sections within months.
Last week, he visited a similar style UN-run hub in Ghana as part of his weeklong trip to West Africa. This hub stores aid for governments and NGOs for dispatch around Africa.
Mr Costello said he saw the opportunity for a hub in Shannon when he was involved as director of elections in the second Lisbon treaty.
The treaty committed EU countries to providing humanitarian aid and included a pledge to work towards eradicating global poverty.
“Shannon is perfect because of its location on the edge of Europe and its proximity to a global port. It also has enormous capacity in terms of runway and storage,” he said. “I’d like to see this project ready to go before the US stopover at Shannon stops.”
Aid hubs have been developed by the UN in Accra, Panama, Dubai, Malaysia, Las Palmas, and Brindisi.
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