Aer Lingus move hits tourism plans

Two major multi-million euro tourism investment packages in the south-west of Ireland have been put on hold since Aer Lingus announced its scrapping of the Shannon Heathrow service.

Dromoland Castle and Doonbeg Golf Course – two of the biggest attractions along the Co Clare coast – have halted €75m worth of work as uncertainty looms over the future of Shannon Airport.

The latest news is a massive blow to the area, where it is already feared thousands of jobs and millions of euro in investment could be threatened after the the national carrier moved its Heathrow slot from Shannon to Belfast.

The backlash from business leaders and tourism chiefs in the region has intensified as more pressure is put on the Government to block the move.

Dromoland Castle, in Newmarket on Fergus, is one of Ireland’s finest castle hotels.

Located just eight miles from Shannon Airport, if offers deluxe accommodation in breathtaking scenery.

But despite getting the go ahead by planners yesterday for a 25 million euro expansion, its board of management has agreed to defer the work.

“We decided until we can stabilise and find out what’s happening in Shannon, to put those plans on the back burner,” said managing director Mark Nolan.

Mr Nolan said the hotel and the entire western seaboard relies on the service to carry passengers from the UK and the rest of the world.

“It’s a major source of our business,” he continued.

“We rely very much on having access from Shannon to a major gateway, such a Heathrow, because the connectivity is huge. It’s not just UK business coming here, it’s the connectivity it gives us to the rest of the world and overnight we will lose that.

“My colleagues right up and down the seaboard share the same major concerns as we do.”

Designed by two-time British Open champion Greg Norman, Doonbeg Golf Club open five years ago along the rugged Atlantic coastline.

Situated 45 miles from the airport, its US owners have already ploughed €100m into the club and a housing development in the area.

But the final €50m investment for a conference centre and more housing has been put on hold.

General manager Joe Russell said open skies – the deal whereby trans-Atlantic flights no longer have to stopover at Shannon – had already raised concerns for the region.

But he said the Aer Lingus announcement was off the radar.

“Shannon, Aer Lingus and Heathrow are huge in terms of that hub, both in and out, not just for Doonbeg Golf Club but for the Shannon region and the entire west coast,” he said.

“Millions are spent marketing the island of Ireland every year and it’s like you are teasing people, telling them about the beautiful golf courses and scenery, and they can’t get here.

“The development is now in jeopardy.”

Mayor of Clare, Cllr Patricia McCarthy, said the move by Dromoland and Doonbeg totally undermines public confidence in the area.

“Unless its reversed quickly it will do untoward damage to the structure that we have built up at enormous expense over a long number of years,” she said.

Cllr McCarthy said town and county councils, industrialists and tourism leaders would fight to have the route re-instated.

“We spent years building up a tourism infrastructure, not just in Co Clare but throughout the western seaboard, and we can not and will not allow it to be damaged by the decision of an airline,” she continued.

“We want our slots by whatever means disposable to do that.”

Up to 10,000 jobs in 28 multinational companies throughout County Limerick are threatened by the airline’s decision, Limerick County Council claimed today.

Meanwhile, Ryanair – which has a 25% stake in Aer Lingus – and Shannon Town Council called on the Taoiseach and the Transport Minister to explain why the company’s landing slots at Heathrow were not ring-fenced to prevent them being lost.

Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary demanded Bertie Ahern interrupt his holidays in Kerry to deal with the issue.