Airports (Amendment) Bill [HL]

Lord Laird Excerpts

Friday 16th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Laird]

My Lords, I would like to express support for the Bill which is before us today for Second Reading. In doing so I acknowledge the exceptional work of my good friend, the noble Lord, Lord Empey, in having the wisdom and drive to introduce this proposed legislation.

I do not intend to detain your Lordships’ House very long this morning. The Bill is brief but makes a most important point for those of us who live in outlying areas of the United Kingdom, as we have heard. In particular, I am concerned about the position of my native Northern Ireland where air travel is so vital to our links with the rest of the kingdom. With your Lordships’ permission, I would like to concentrate on tourism. Northern Ireland has emerged from a very dark and difficult period. Concentrating on economic regeneration and the building of modern infrastructure is the task of the local administration. One of the areas for massive development could be, and is, tourism. I give an example. As every noble Lord will agree, Northern Ireland is a beautiful area with, on the whole, friendly, helpful and amusing people.

[A noble Lord]

Hear, hear.

[Lord Laird]

That is very kind. However, we have one further major asset when it comes to tourism, that being that it is the homeland of the Ulster Scots people, whose relations settled in America in the 18th century and mostly shaped the southern states. Today there are 22 million Ulster Scots—or as they call them, Scots Irish descendants—living in the US, in contrast with the Irish population in that massive country, which is only 18 million. The historic interest to the Ulster Scots of the area of Ulster should be exploited without mercy to bring those seeking their roots to our shores. It is to be remembered that from our small part of the island of Ireland have come some 17 presidents of the United States, as have men called Houston, Austin and Dallas, after whom the major cities in Texas were named. Writers such as Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe and John Steinbeck also had Ulster blood in their veins. The list goes on and on, and so could I, but, to the relief of the House, I will not.

Tourists from the US, many of whom have never left the States before, require the passage to Northern Ireland to be as easy as any air travel in their home country. Unless this Bill is given effect—or this provision is made by some other method—the all important connections at Heathrow to the three airports in Northern Ireland could be diminished. The domestic air slots must be guarded to ensure ease of connection from the USA and, indeed, other places in the world.

In 2010, 37,800 visitors from North America came to Northern Ireland by air. In 2011, the figure was 33,000. I consider these figures to be woefully low. Unfortunately, they reflect the lack of promotion of the unique tourist product of the Ulster Scots. However, that is a discussion for another place. Tourism has the potential to be a major industry for Northern Ireland but it will be hindered unless the issue of flights to the appropriate air hubs to connect with the outside world, and vice versa, is addressed in this Bill. I support the Second Reading of the Airports (Amendment) Bill.