Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. Cuirim fáilte roimh chách. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Darren O'Rourke as cuireadh a thabhairt dom inniu. I will direct my questions to Mr. Mulhern. Everyone knows that Kerry Airport provides important business links, but also it is an important social link for immigrant communities, particularly in the greater London area, Birmingham, Manchester and Coventry. I would like to congratulate Mr. Mulhern on the work that he has done in the airport recently in respect of the rebranding, the retail section and the bar, and the investment that has been put into the new hold baggage X-ray system. Hopefully it will allow journeys through Kerry Airport to be better journeys. I also congratulate him on keeping the employees there for so long, that nobody was laid off up to recently and that 57 direct jobs and hundreds of others in the community have been supported.

I have a number of questions. In the annual report, it is stated that in the second quarter, passenger numbers were down from 102,808. What has the comparison been in the third quarter? On the issue of the new funding that was announced yesterday, how long is that funding going to sustain the airport? I know that the airport received a €1.9 million capital grant in 2019. How long will this funding keep the airport going? Has the airport had any talks with the HSE or the private provider? As regards the public service obligation, PSO, routes project, is the airport happy enough with how it is going? The Dublin link allows many of the big-spending American tourists into the county. I ask Mr. Mulhern to provide the committee with an update on that.