27 Mr. Moynihan asked the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications if she will review the position of granting the necessary licence to Aer Lingus to develop an air service to the west coast of America, in view of the advantage of such an extended air service to Irish tourism.

Under the Ireland/US Air Agreement, there is no restriction on the number of Irish carriers which may operate on the Ireland/Los Angeles route which is the only point on the West Coast of the US available to Irish carriers for scheduled services. There is no restriction on the points which may be served on a non-scheduled basis by Irish carriers.

Aer Lingus have been designated to the US authorities to operate scheduled air services on this route and it is a matter for the airline to decide when they propose to inaugurate such services.