Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mainly, Waterford is the airport that gets the most subsidies under OPEX because it is the one that is losing the most money. There are only two or three flights a week from it at this stage.

There is also provision for capital grants for security and safety improvements only.

The question of regional airports is always a tricky one. Of course, the budget can always be reviewed, but the question is always whether the funding could be better spent. If one looks at the cost, for example, of subsidising a flight from one part of the country to another, imagine what that could do on public transport. That is always the kind of decision one has to make. The cost of the PSO to Donegal or Kerry is probably more than the entire subvention for all the bus services in the Waterford area and it gives one an idea of the kind of decisions that have to be made.