Dublin (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – MEP Nina Carberry pushes for action against Dublin Airport passenger cap, highlighting job and economic risks.
FINE Gael MEP Nina Carberry states she is eager to get on with the work, setting out her priorities concerning fighting for farming communities, improving horse passport regulations, and defending jobs which she feels are at risk due to the Dublin Airport passenger cap.
Why is Carberry concerned about Ireland’s aviation industry?
MEP Carberry, who has a seat on the Committee on Tourism and Transport in the EU Parliament, said that she is very worried about the passenger cap and the effects it will have on business and jobs.
“We were an island country,”
she stated, stating that
“we rely on our aviation”.
She raised worries that the current passenger cap at Dublin Airport may breach the EU-US Open Skies Agreement, which guarantees proper competition and unobstructed access for airlines between Europe and the United States.
Following meetings with senior officials from the European Commission and DAA, Carberry stressed the need for urgent effort to ensure Ireland’s compliance with international aviation standards and to defend its role as a key global aviation hub. Believing with her “tourism cap on”, Carberry stated she is “disappointed that you see so much push to attract people to Ireland, and that I worry in the next couple of years how it’s [the passenger cap] going to affect businesses”.
What actions does Carberry propose to address the passenger cap issue?
She stated it is “definitely” going to be a knock-on impact on jobs. “So that’s a real worry,” Carberry added, deciding that a few heads need to be knocked together as the debate has been “going on too long now”. “They need to agree. They ought to work together. It seems like there’s no discussion there at all and things need to occur quicker, rather than later because people are going to relinquish jobs, and it’s disappointing to see that,” she stated.
She said that she had a distinct perspective on the campaign trail, saying that she played her part in discussions and did hustings for the IFA and the Chamber of Commerce in Meath, as well as occurring on RTÉ’s Six One News.
“To be honest, I was out on the ground every single day. I laboured hard to meet as many people as I could. As you know, it’s 15 counties, it’s very difficult. And to be honest, my emphasis was on the people, and at the end of the day, they elected me, and I was very proud that they got behind me.”
