Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

During Second Stage, I discussed with the Minister the position on cross-subsidisation between the two companies that will sit under the overarching company. The Minister was at pains to point out in his Second Stage statement that the companies would not be in a position to cross-subsidise. At the time I was somewhat confused because, as I set out for the Minister, the reason for the bringing together of the two companies was to ensure the airport would have a real chance of surviving on the basis of having external support.

Shannon Airport is a going concern and has survived up to now on revenues generated by ARI. While that was part of the group company, there was a subvention of between €10 and €12 million annually. The Booz report set out very clearly that an airport the size of Shannon Airport needs between 3 and 5 million passengers a year in normal trading conditions to survive. Notwithstanding the best efforts to create a business plan which would demonstrate the capacity of Shannon to survive on its own, it was not possible to predict or forecast that level of activity. The expectation in the minds of all was that the bringing together of the property assets of Shannon Development would be adequate and appropriate to assist Shannon Airport to become a stand-alone entity. Being cut adrift from the DAA, it would not be in a position to receive any State support. As it would be now independent, that would rightly be seen as state aid, which EU rules prevent. The Minister might expand therefore on how he sees the capacity for the airport to survive as an independent entity without access to revenues or resources other than those generated by terminal traffic or the use of its own lands. My understanding is that Shannon Development as a company will continue to manage the assets of the old SFADCO.