161 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if her attention has been drawn to the deterioration of the level of air services between Shannon and Dublin and the consequent disadvantage to international business in the south and mid west regions; and the steps she is proposing to address this situation. [3156/02]

It is my policy to facilitate and encourage a wide range of reliable, regular and competitive commercial air services to and from airports in Ireland in the interest of Irish trade, industry and tourism.

Under European air transport liberalisation measures, any air carrier licensed in the European Economic Area, that is, the 15 member states of the European Union plus Norway and Iceland, may introduce air services on any route within the EEA without any government or EU controls, subject only to the availability of airport slots at either end of the route and overall safety considerations. As a result the provision of air services on any route is essentially a matter for the commercial judgment of the individual airline.

A new airline, SkyNet Airlines, will be operating a new service between Shannon and Dublin, commencing later this year. This service will link with other airlines to provide onward connections from Dublin as well as an onwards service to Warsaw.