It has been an extraordinarily difficult year for Shannon Airport. Throughout much, if not all, of the past year, it has not had a chair for its board of directors. Strategic decisions need to be made at Shannon regarding its aviation business but also in respect of Shannon Heritage and its future. The chair of a board of directors is there to provide strategic guidance. When the Tánaiste was Taoiseach, Shane Ross was his Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and I am told he wrote a book about the experience. He rang the then chair of Shannon Airport to tell her he was not going to continue her tenure. No sooner was he off the phone to her when he got a phone call from the then Taoiseach, as a result of which he changed his mind. Will the Tánaiste give the current Minister for Transport a ring to see what is happening with the appointment of a chair in Shannon? I have been trying to phone him but he does not answer my calls.

I am not sure if the former Minister, Shane Ross, has the timeline exactly right but he does have the substance right. I did ask him to extend the term of the then chair at that time, at least until he found a new one. I do not think that was bad advice because leaving a chair empty is never a good thing for a board and that is the point Deputy McNamara is making. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, does take my calls. I will certainly raise the matter with him this evening when I see him.