Sinn Féin TD for Clare Violet-Anne Wynne, speaking this morning following the confirmation from Ryanair that they will close their Shannon base for the winter, has said;

“This morning’s news will come as another major blow to Shannon Airport and the entire Shannon region.

“Ryanair mooted a number of weeks back that they would be closing their base in Shannon, but many hoped this would not happen.

“In a week where the government committed around €5 million to Shannon Airport, along with their pledge to sign up to the EU Traffic Light system in Tuesday’s Budget, it would appear this may be a case of too little, too late.

“While I understand that this decision was made on a commercial basis, it is imperative that Ryanair commit to reopening their Shannon base after the winter lockdown.

“One would have to question how their Dublin base is not at all affected.

“This again shows that Shannon as a standalone airport does not have the bargaining power of the DAA.

“My Sinn Féin colleagues in the Seanad, headed up by Limerick based Senator Paul Gavan, have a very important motion this week calling for Shannon Airport to be re-integrated with the DAA.

“This motion will be voted on in the Seanad tomorrow morning and I would call on all Senators to support the motion.”