Mr. Niall MacCarthy:

I will be as swift as I can be. I sincerely thank the Acting Chair and the members of the committee for the invitation to discuss national aviation policy. Cork Airport is the busiest airport in the State, situated in the second largest city, and what will be the fastest growing city in Ireland over the next 20 years. As Ireland’s second busiest airport in 2022, we welcomed a total of 2.24 million arriving and departing passengers. This represents an 86% recovery of 2019 passenger traffic and this year so far, we are exceeding our pre-Covid passenger levels, which demonstrates the strength of demand that exists across the south of Ireland for air services through Cork.

Cork Airport plays a crucial economic role across the south of Ireland, generating €904 million for the Irish economy and contribute to the employment of 12,180 people in Ireland. As well as being a major employer in its own right, Cork Airport indirectly supports thousands of tourism and hospitality jobs across the south of Ireland, a sector that plays no small part in our indigenous economy. Furthermore, the presence of the world’s biggest multinational companies in the Cork region is testament to the great work being done in promoting Ireland and, indeed, Cork as a great place to do business.

We partner with multiple other promotional organisations in the State, including IDA Ireland, Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Cork City Council, Cork County Council and Cork Chamber of Commerce in a coalition of the willing to provide the best international connectivity outside of Dublin to and from the UK and continental Europe.

This year, we expect to welcome in excess of 2.4 million passengers across 40 routes. Continued investment by the State in Cork Airport will yield results, both for the local economy and in tax revenues. We are very confident that with continued State support, we will reach 3 million international passengers per annum in the next few years and we have strong ambitions for growth beyond that.

Prior to Covid-19, Cork Airport was not eligible for any funding whatsoever under the regional airports programme given that our passenger levels exceeded the programmes threshold of 1 million passengers. However, with the significant decline in passenger numbers over the duration of the pandemic, the reduced passenger traffic rendered Cork Airport eligible for funding. We are incredibly grateful, and I say that genuinely, for the supports received from the Department of Transport and the Government over the last three years. It is testament to that support that Cork Airport has rebounded extremely well from the effects of the pandemic

Our ask is clear. We would now ask that the eligibility threshold for state aid in regional airports in Ireland be aligned with the EU norm. The EU allows for state aid to regional airports up to 3 million passengers per annum. We are an outlier in that our limit is 1 million. Our request is quite simply that we align with EU eligibility capacity of 3 million passengers per annum. By ensuring that parity exists with our fellow EU regional airports, access to regional airports funding will allow Cork Airport to continue its strong growth trajectory and continue to contribute strongly to tourism and business in the south of Ireland.

The regional airports programme supports key investment in airport infrastructure. It is mostly in the areas of safety and security. It is our wish that any capital investments funded by the regional airports programme will also be focused on the key area of sustainability and addressing the global climate challenge. The aviation sector has an important role to play in reducing its carbon emissions and Cork Airport is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. As part of the airport carbon accreditation programme, an internationally recognised standard in aviation from our industry body, Airports Council International, we will ensure we meet the criteria to achieve the highest level of transition to address scope 3 emissions by 2025. In addition, Cork Airport will meet the Government's carbon reduction targets for 2030 of 50% ahead of the prescribed deadline and probably in 2026.

This will be achieved by a range of measures but also by including a solar farm to deliver approximately 30% of the airport’s electricity needs in the next 18 months.

Cork Airport is no different from any of the regional airports here today in that our business is facing ever-present challenges of escalating capital costs and ever-increasing operating costs as a result of inflationary pressures. Increasing costs coupled with downward pressure on our revenues driven by the highly competitive market in which we operate, driven by low-cost carriers, makes for an ongoing very challenging financial situation for regional airports, particularly in relation to funding large-scale capital expenditure.

I say again that we are immensely grateful for the supports that have been allocated to date under the regional airports programme. The Department of Transport and the Government have played a significant part in the strong recovery of passenger traffic at Cork Airport and future proofing international connectivity by providing financial support to our critical strategic infrastructure including the newly reconstructed main runway at Cork and a new electrical substation which will be finished in the next few months.

To conclude, we have one primary ask today. Under the national aviation policy, we ask that the regional airport programme threshold be increased to 3 million passengers per annum to ensure Cork Airport continues to grow strongly into the future and so that Cork Airport is treated on a par with our competitor airports in Europe.

Our role is to provide excellent connectivity, to ensure regional balance and support hundreds of thousands of jobs across the South of Ireland as a key economic enabler and as part of the State’s proud and thriving aviation eco system, and we seek the committee's support in that endeavour.