Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

I am grateful for the opportunity of raising this matter. The interim management arrangements for the country's international airports are proving every bit as fraught as many of us feared they would be on the proposal to bring an end to Aer Rianta's role as the holding company responsible for the management of Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports. In the interim situation Dublin Airport Authority has assumed the role of Aer Rianta and has become to all intents and purposes the new holding company. While Aer Rianta may have had many faults, at least it fulfilled its role in a relatively impartial manner in terms of the proportionate allocation of resources and passenger numbers between the three main airports. It tended to treat the development plans of each airport in a relatively impartial way.

Currently there is much uncertainty. There is disagreement at Government level regarding the progression of Dublin Airport. The Minister of State may find himself on a particular side of that argument. Those of us who represent constituencies where other international airports are located are sitting on the sidelines, looking askance at the lack of activity regarding the formation of truly independent airport authorities for the airports in our areas. We are very worried that decisions which must be faced are not being taken as a result.

It is of little matter to us in Cork whether Dublin has one, two or three terminals, or who will run those terminals. However, it is of great concern to us that this inter-party squabble within the Government is delaying the establishment of a formal holding company for Irish airports allowing for a decision on how Cork Airport will enter into independent life. The biggest factor will be the decision on how the debt for the new airport development will be treated. A debt of €160 million is very big for any new commercial entity, particularly when the decision was made by a national airport authority and was approved by the Government.

Many in the Cork region fear that as we now have a holding company that is the Dublin Airport Authority, the agenda is being set on behalf of the Dublin Airport Authority and decisions are being made or deferred by that authority including decisions on whether to allocate resources. We seem to have entered into a kind of administrative and commercial limbo in which the Government has no set timetable other than the production of business plans, which ultimately must be approved by the Dublin Airport Authority and submitted to Government under the new arrangements. While the Minister of State might have some concerns about Shannon Airport, my concerns relate to my role as a public representative for Cork South Central and my knowledge of Cork Airport. I suspect some factors assist Shannon Airport that have little to do with civil aviation.

In recent times Cork Airport has embraced its new commercial realities with great gusto by attracting new airlines, increasing passenger numbers and having a degree of certainty in terms of decisions about the provision of necessary new infrastructure. However, a doubt now exists because of uncertainty concerning airline and airport policy for the country. The Minister of State might be in a position to outline where this stands and perhaps he might be able to avert the prepared script he is about to read to the House. However, if this issue is not resolved quickly regardless of how many terminals Dublin has, a price will be paid in Cork and, I suspect, in the international airport that serves the constituency of the Minister of State.

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