Dr. Catríona Cahill:

The Deputy commented on the Booz report and the number of passengers it projected as the level that Shannon Airport needed to reach to be sustainable. While it is correct that the number has not been reached, two other aspects were put forward for the sustainability of Shannon Airport within that report, one of which concerned growing cargo operations, which links with one of the Deputy's latter questions. The second aspect involved allowing for cross-subsidisation across the group but that has not been allowed. We have to bear in mind that certain conditions did not come into play and that has to be considered in the context of the wider aspect of Shannon Airport's growth projections and patterns that have emerged.

On cargo, the previous time there was significant discussion of cargo expansion at Shannon Airport was in 2012, when the airport was still part of the DAA group and the DAA had entered into discussions with the Lynx group. The official separation of Shannon Airport took place in December 2012, at which point the management structures of Shannon Airport decided they would not progress with that plan but instead focus their attention and resources on developing more routes from the airport.

Copenhagen Economics did not examine the issue of cargo in detail for two reasons, one of which was it was originally outside the scope we had requested. Moreover, in order for it to carry out a legitimate analysis, it would have needed access to particular information that is currently deemed to be commercially insensitive. It nonetheless stressed in the document that the area warranted further attention, particularly because of opportunities that could present themselves after Brexit. From our dealings in other areas and sectors, we know there are opportunities, especially for pharmaceutical companies currently based in the UK that now need access to European markets. They are looking to Ireland and this could help with opportunities for an international cargo hub being developed-----