Mr. Joe Gilmore:

From a passenger perspective the airport has been profitable over the past couple of years before the receipt of State funding under the regional airports programme. Our sweet point is in the region of 800,000 to 1 million passengers. Again, it depends on the mix and the spend of those passengers through the airport, but it is in the region of 800,000 to 1 million passengers. We are, as I outlined in my submission, covering on average 90% of our operational costs annually, if not 100%.

Where we need continued support, as with the other airports, is on significant capital expenditure required to maintain airports as key pieces of infrastructure across the country. We were very thankful for the funding we received last year for the overlay of our main runway and other key projects such as whole baggage screening where €15 million was invested, and we received 75% of that from the Government. Capital is the major spending item.