Mr. Liam Scollan:

We were asked about the level of supports at Shannon. As Mr. Gilmore said previously, we do not know what those are. This is not an anti-Shannon issue; it is just that we would welcome total transparency on the supports given to all airports so that people can see whether there is genuine value for money. For instance, we know there has been approximately €150 million in capital investment, although we do not know these things for sure. We know, for instance, that there has been funding for immigration facilities at Shannon, which gives it a major competitive advantage over other airports. At that time we would have welcomed an invitation to tender aimed at, let us say, Cork, Shannon, Knock and the different airports in the west that are capable of landing transatlantic traffic. For instance, we know there are significant troop movements - 200,000 to 300,000 - through Shannon, which bring enormous levels of income.

At the State airports air traffic control is free. While we have no access to figures, the savings to those airports are in the region of €2.5 million to €3 million a year. Our air traffic control costs are approximately €500,000 and we pay for that from things such as the development fee. Historically there has been an uneven playing field. While I know there was one miracle at Knock, there has also been a second, which is the fact that we have managed to grow despite that level of subvention over the years indirectly through the DAA system. This is not an anti-Shannon issue but it is about the Government's strategic engagement with an airport in setting out a new model for the development of aviation in the country.