Munster RSF Executive questions price of 'normailising British rule'

The decision of Aer Lingus to end the Shannon to Heathrow service is akin to an act  of national sabotage, Des Long, chairman of the Munster Executive of Republican Sinn Fein said this week.

Long from Corbally in Limerick said that the future of the Airport is now at a crucial stage but is being abandoned by regional strategic policy.

With the ending of the Shannon to Heathrow service next year, the accessibility of many international firms located in the Free Zone will be adversely affected he said.

This retrograde move by Aer Lingus comes less than six months after the ending of the Shannon Stop which signaled a change in regional development policy.

Shannon has proved to be a regional magnet attracting more than only passenger numbers but industrial development and providing thousands of jobs for Limerick, Clare and the Mid West in general. All this is now threatened because the removal of the Aer Lingus service.  Such moves threaten the viability and long-term future of Shannon. The time has come for a concerted marketing campaign to ensure that Shannon does not lose its international gateway status.

This latest blow is directly linked to the political plans of Dublin, Belfast and London and it is the people of the Mid West, Limerick, Clare, Tipperary and Kerry who are now paying the economic price for the normalization of British rule in Ireland.