Open skies and a rail link are the way to go, together with the atlantic coridoor. But the airport also needs a major overhaul of work practices and employment.

From talking to people well acquainted with how things are run there, it is vastly over staffed (by a factor of about three), suffering from nepotism, excessive unionisation, ancient work practices and utter incompetence in some areas.

This is why Aer Lingus have had problems introducing FastPass check in in Shannon

As can be seen from Brian Meaney’s (Green Party Clare County Councillor) pragmatic support for US troops passing through Shannon Airport despite his pary’s opposition.

He says his support is a principled one based on the fact that if the US pulled out of Iraq then there would be civil war. However, it’s more likely that, for a potential canditate in the Clare constituency in the next General Election, opposition to anything that benefits Shannon Airport, no matter how principled, is a no-no.