*Photograph: Arthur Ellis
OVER 20,300 jobs across the Irish workforce are supported by the Shannon Airport Group which contributes €3.96bn to Ireland’s GDP and €643m in tax revenues, a new report has found.
An economic impact report published on Friday by economic advisory firm Oxford Economics has detailed that an updated national aviation policy published can ensure further growth continues in Shannon.
Shannon Airport Group’s economic contribution to the Irish economy is quantified in the report. The analysis reflects the direct, indirect, and induced contribution that it makes through its own activities, and the activities of firms operating in the Shannon Campus and Group’s other business parks in the Mid-West and South-West of Ireland.
To maximise the contribution that the Shannon Airport Group makes to the Mid-West and Irish economies, the report makes a series of recommendations including, Government should update the Irish Aviation Policy published in 2015 to help it achieve the long-term growth targets set out in Project Ireland 2040. Government should review its decision to exclude regional airports above one million passengers from state aid within the Regional Airports Programme. Government and tourism boards should further promote Shannon Airport as the gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way. Ease of travel, both through the Airport and onward to other destinations is a clear aspect that differentiates Shannon’s offer to prospective visitors from that of Dublin, which is more prone to congestion.
Findings also show that Shannon Airport is an enabler of trade through the facilitation of imports and exports. In addition, Shannon Airport-facilitated tourism is a major contributor to Irish GDP. This is reflected in a series of testimonials in the report outlining the positive impact of the Group, from organisations including Northern Trust, Ei Electronics, Jaguar Land Rover, Chambers of Commerce, University of Limerick, and IDA Ireland.
Of the jobs supported from the activities of the Shannon Airport Group, 11,300 are linked directly to the activities of the Airport and the businesses located across the Group’s business parks. 4,560 are linked to the activity and employment supported along the supply chain, as a result of the procurement of goods and services by firms across the Group. 4,480 are arising from induced impact, comprising the wider economic benefits that arise when workers across the Group and the associated supply chains spend their earnings, for example in regional retail and leisure establishments.
