I rise to commend Shannon Airport, from which Norwegian Airlines will operate a daily service to Stewart International Airport in New York. Shannon Airport now has six airlines which fly to seven destinations in America. We regularly hear about Dublin Airport being over-capacity and not having enough room, whereas Shannon airport has excess capacity. We are a small nation. Our network is very good and when the M20 is built it will be even better. People will be able to travel to Shannon to fly abroad. I ask that we invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, to come to the House to have a wide-ranging debate about using our resources in the best way possible. People go to Dublin Airport on buses straight from Limerick, while we have a local airport capable of a much greater capacity. We should look at ways to encourage people from Dublin and other regions to use services in Shannon. Perhaps something needs to be done in Government policy because Shannon Airport is now independent. It is not a matter of funding; it is about policy. Dublin Airport is discussing building another runway. We forget how small an island we are. I ask that we invite the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to come to the House and we can have a structured debate.

Senator Norris made reference to what the Seanad can do. These are the type of debates I would like to see. It pertains to policy. Being a former Member of the Dáil, I find the big difference is that issues are debated at length here. The Senator was speaking about Seanad reform. One area in which one could do that is to consider ways whereby a certain share of Bills would start in this House. We may have differing views but we saw how the alcohol Bill was debated here in great depth. These are the areas.

The Leader should ask the Minister, Deputy Ross, to come in before the House. We could double the capacity in Shannon Airport. Why do we not look at it in terms of balanced regional development? At the same time, we are speaking about building another runway in Dublin and I question whether it makes economic sense for the State.

I acknowledge the contribution of my colleague, Senator Kieran O'Donnell, regarding where we are going with a national strategy on connectivity. He mentioned the issue of Norwegian Airlines cutting the winter flights. The airline has done that in Cork as well. The winter flights from Cork and Shannon are not happening this season. That has a major knock-on effect for both the tourism sector and the self-confidence of the region. It is important to have this debate about regional development, what we will do with Project Ireland 2040 and how we will develop the country. If we are to develop Dublin Airport to its full potential and put a second runway in there, we must ensure that the other airports are protected. We have a motorway journey from Cork to Dublin of two hours with buses going on the hour, if not on the half-hour. That connectivity is there. What we need is a connectivity to ensure that the airlines will work appropriately and will come into these regions, whether it is Shannon or Cork, in order that the tourism sector and the business sector in particular in those areas can flourish.

We find in Cork that the lack of connectivity to the United States for the business sector is a big issue. They want to be hitting the US mainland directly from Cork. What they do not want is to be obliged to go to Dublin and then get a flight out because that is not how they want to spend their day. The big pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical plants in Cork are huge operations and need that connectivity to their American bases. A debate with the Minister is important because unless we model and change Government policy on these issues, Dublin Airport will develop into a monster and the two other regional airports that have an international focus, Shannon and Cork, may not achieve their full potential. Shannon has an advantage over Cork because it has independent status. Perhaps we should consider re-opening that debate in Cork because if we had independent status, we might be able to have a bigger slice of the cake we need to deliver both Project Ireland 2040 as a national plan and the regional development this country badly requires.