Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for having missed the submission. I had an important role as we need a certain number of people on quorum duty for the Seanad to start. When witnesses see Deputies and Senators leaving, it is not a snub. I am delighted the witnesses can appear before us today. We are talking about oversight and inspection capabilities with regard to aviation security. I was interested to see that income has been drawn from other sources. This has effectively regularised the way the authority gets its funding.

We are very proud of Dublin Airport, including the new Terminal 2, about which there was huge hoo-ha over the years because it was so expensive. It is now an international hub and it is great to see that it is a regional airport and is bringing people from across the island. There is, effectively, a captive audience. Security must be paramount, but what is being done to drive down costs? Gardaí used to perform passport checks but now civilians do so, which is very welcome. It releases gardaí across the State. I have noticed that in respect of security checks, instead of one person queuing, five people queue at a time. I think it might have started in Stansted. Perhaps Dublin was the first to introduce it.

Certainly it has helped save time but has it made any savings?

I will be parochial. We are very proud of Knock Airport in my region. However, before one goes through security at Knock there is a €10 departure fee, which effectively goes to the airport. It is something a lot of people do not realise. We are happy to pay it. Does the Department have any role regarding funding for Knock Airport?