Mr. Ronan Gallagher:

I will take the Senator's points about the DAA first of all. The airport is regulated by the Commission for Aviation Regulation, which is an economic regulator separate from the IAA. It makes determinations on a five-year basis. It takes into account the capital investment plans of the airport, including projections for future passenger levels. It is an open process. The airlines and airports make submissions. The economic regulator takes on expertise to provide independent overview of that process. They arrive at a per passenger, regulated price which sets on an average basis what passengers using Dublin Airport pay for the privilege. That is the cost containment model. There is an economic regulator that makes sure that Dublin Airport, given its strong market position, cannot just make up prices and take advantage of a kind of de facto monopoly position on the island in terms of the scale of its operations. It is the only airport in the State that is regulated by virtue of its size. That is how the State ensures that there is a lid kept on costs.

Some of the initiatives the Senator mentioned result in part from the cross-Departmental, cross-agency engagement of the facilitation committee I mentioned earlier. The Department of Justice and Equality, An Garda Síochána and immigration services joined with the airport and airlines. There has been a process over the past three or four years to replace gardaí with civilian staff. That frees up gardaí and reduces the costs because there is a ceiling in pay level terms. There are also flexibilities within that service. Those initiatives have been driven by the Department of Justice in co-operation with the airport under this facilitation committee. It is an example of how the committee smooths the relationship between various actors at the airport.

On Knock, I must confess I do not have specific knowledge. Knock is not a regulated airport. None of the other airports is. All of them set some per passenger charge, which is used to support the company and facilities and to keep the airport open. That is what it goes towards. I would have to defer on the funding for Knock, it is in another area of the Department. If the Senator has some specific questions, I would be happy to get more information for him.