Mr. Pádraig Ó Céidigh:

That is a fundamentally important question on the economics of transport infrastructure. The single biggest reason is numbers. About 2 million people live within an hour's drive of Dublin Airport or almost half of the population of Ireland. There is another factor to be considered. I do not have the exact figure - I am near enough in percentage terms - but more than 70% of all of the passengers who move in and out of Dublin Airport are delivered by two airlines, that is, Aer Lingus and Ryanair. The headquarters of Ryanair and Aer Lingus are in Dublin. When headquarters are based in a place, then it is more than likely the number of flights will increase. I have listed the two biggest reasons and it is very much a numbers game.