The Killaloe Diocese reply to the Dublin Report "Click here"

EMBARGO: 9 p.m. Saturday 11 th August 2007

Dear News Editor,

Enclosed is a Statement issued on behalf of the Bishops of the Mid -West Region in relation to the Aer Lingus decision to close services between Shannon and Heathrow.

The Statement will be distributed to congregations at many Masses and Church services in the region tomorrow (Sunday 12 th August 2007).

Contacts for further information and follow up on this Statement:

For Bishop Michael Mayes : Contact Canon Bob Hanna, Ennis at 086-2229248

For Bishop Donal Murray: Contact Fr. Seamus Madigan, Limerick at 086-8441609

For Bishop Willie Walsh : Contact Fr. Harry Bohan, Sixmilebridge at 086-8223362

We warmly welcome the expansion of activity at Belfast International Airport made possible by the new situation of peace on our island. However, we share the dismay that the decision by Aer Lingus to abandon the Shannon-Heathrow flights has caused among its staff, its passengers, and the people of the area. It is a serious blow to tourist and business enterprises in the region. While it has to be noted that Aer Lingus has served the Shannon region well over the years this decision now closes a profitable route which provided the west of Ireland with an incoming and outgoing link with a major European hub.

We issue this statement out of our concern for all of those whose lives will be adversely affected by this decision. In particular we feel that it is our duty to point out that public policy and the behaviour of private companies must have regard to moral obligations beyond merely commercial and short term considerations. We welcome and strongly support the initiatives in recent days of local politicians, organisations and business interests in the region to address the decision to close off this major arterial air-route from the mid-west region.

We offer the following points for consideration:

This decision has implications beyond Aer Lingus and beyond this very unwelcome announcement about Shannon.

We are particularly concerned that the Aer Lingus statement that this was a pragmatic commercial decision appears to be offered as a complete and adequate justification.

The ultimate purpose of the economy and of economic activity is not just to create profit; it is to make life more human for people. There is no area of life, including the economy in which social responsibility may be ignored. Nor do we accept that shareholders should be presumed to have no interest other than the generation of profit at whatever cost to their fellow human beings. That is especially true when the shareholder in the company is the Government, which exists to foster the common good of its citizens.

We cannot accept that managers and boards of companies may regard considerations such as the well being of their staff, their obligations to their customers and their impact on the community and the wider world as matters of little relevance in serious decision making

For many years public policy has been concerned about unbalanced development in Ireland. The over-concentration of population and economic activity in the Greater Dublin area is a huge problem not only for the rest of the country but for Dublin itself.

The following serious questions need to be addressed at this time:

What led to the situation in which a company in which the Government is a major shareholder took a decision which will have an outcome entirely contrary to the Government's already inadequate efforts towards a spatial strategy and regional planning?

With the development of an open skies policy is there anything to prevent Cork or even Dublin losing Aer Lingus slots at Heathrow in order to make way for more commercially rewarding flights to that airport from destinations outside Ireland?

Why was it was thought necessary to remove all Heathrow flights from Shannon and the Western sea-board of Ireland while making no adjustments elsewhere?

How can the decision of the past week give confidence to the people of the nation that there is a serious will to address the real imbalance in our country where an ever growing proportion of investment and development will be sucked into the Dublin-Belfast area to the detriment of the island as a whole?

A decision such as this recalls the words of the late John Healy that we are increasingly becoming citizens of an economy rather than of a nation.

We appeal to the Government, the other shareholders and the Board of Aer Lingus to take urgent steps to reverse this very damaging decision to abandon the Shannon-Heathrow flights.

+ Michael Mayes, Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert

+ Donal Murray, Catholic Bishop of Limerick

+ Willie Walsh, Catholic Bishop of Killaloe.

Press Release - Monday 5 th December 2005

Launch of www.gettingmarried.ie

by Dr Willie Walsh, President of ACCORD

"Marriage - a journey not a destination" - Bishop Walsh

Today, Dr Willie Walsh, Bishop of Killaloe and President of ACCORD, formally launched the website www.gettingmarried.ie where all the information that a couple preparing for marriage needs can be accessed and downloaded at the touch of a button.

Speaking at the launch in the ACCORD centre in Harcourt Street , Dublin , Bishop Willie Walsh said: "The lead up to Christmas is a very appropriate time to launch this website as it is during this time when many couples announce their engagement and start to think about their wedding plans.

"Marriage is a journey not a destination and the decision to get married is arguably the most important decision a couple will make in their lifetime. It cannot be made lightly and needs a lot of thought and preparation. By making the choice to get married in the Catholic Church couples are making a commitment to living their married life in a certain way. The sacrament of marriage has a unique position within the seven sacraments in that it is the only one, which is bestowed by the couple on each other and witnessed by the priest and community.

"We read a lot about the level of marriage breakdown and separation and we are encouraged that recent research in the UK has shown that 69% of people see that being married with children is the most desirable lifestyle. Here in Ireland it is interesting to note that there has been an increase of over 5% in those getting married in each of the last five years."

Bishop Walsh continued: "I offer my congratulations to all those in ACCORD and Catholic Ireland, involved in putting this website together. The site should prove an invaluable resource to couples as they prepare for their marriage".

The website gives details of the state and church regulations and the various documents needed in preparation for the wedding day and where they can be obtained. Of particular interest are the essential steps in the marriage preparation journey which is available on the website in a timeline format.

The website also provides a wedding booklet facility, which allows couples to create their marriage booklet online, a task which many couples find particularly daunting and stressful. There is a frequently asked questions section covering some of the many questions that couples have when they are preparing for their marriage.

5 th December 2005

Further information:

Martin Long Director of Communications (086 172 7678)

Brenda Drumm Communications Officer (087 233 7797