Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Jacobs and Mr. McQueen are very welcome, and I thank them for the presentation they have given us so far. The information is very welcome. I have a number of questions. I will just put them all together to the witnesses and they might answer them briefly thereafter.

First, I know we are not allowed to talk about the north runway but when do the witnesses think we will be able to talk about it and when do they envisage a resolution, not just for DAA but for the council and all the people who are waiting for that resolution?

Second, we have talked about the development of the third terminal being based on proper and improving public transport links. Obviously, BusConnects is being worked on but, from the witnesses' perspective and from a planning perspective, given that - and I do not say this ironically - previous governments have delayed the metro so often and that now we have a date probably ten to 12 years away, how does that impact the development and the growth and the potential for a third sector in the airport?

Third, Mr. Jacobs mentioned briefly that it is Government policy that is stopping DAA adding more car parking places, yet it is ready to buy that particular section of land if that deal can be done. Can the witnesses just explain that to me? How quickly do they think those car parking spaces can come online? I acknowledge what has been said insofar as that sometimes what we see in the media - I will not call it hysteria, but sometimes the reactions are not reflective of the reality on the ground. I have used the car park myself in recent weeks. There was no problem and there were plenty of places. Maybe May is different from, as Mr. Jacobs said, July and August and, obviously, people have to be forewarned to be forearmed and to make those plans. How quickly do the witnesses envisage being able to add those extra spaces? What is the Government policy they think is hampering that?

I have to ask the witnesses two last things. For some reason when the DAA makes announcements, they tend to attract controversy in the media, whether from popular airline personalities or from politicians or from the media themselves. I refer to the drop-off plans and the planning permission DAA has received to make those changes to be able to stop people from going right up to drop their Johnny or their Mary to the airport and then leave. What are the short-term and the medium-term plans in the coming years? Not ten years away, because I know what the response was. It was given on radio and was that there were no immediate plans. There are changes coming, however, and I would like to know what DAA's plans for those changes are.

Finally, I thought it was most interesting that arrivals duty-free was mentioned. It is something we see in other, far-flung parts of the world. What plans does DAA have and how soon would it see them materialised?