Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 4 together.

As the Deputies will be aware, I am currently finalising proposals for the provision of additional terminal capacity at Dublin Airport for consideration by Government very shortly. There are two crucial issues guiding the overall consideration of how terminal capacity will be provided at Dublin Airport. We must ensure the continued overall operational integrity and strategic development of Dublin Airport to meet the needs of current and future users of the airport, both airlines and passengers. It will be necessary to ensure that additional terminal capacity is provided within a reasonable time frame to meet the growth in air traffic. Projected growth in passenger traffic drives the timing and scale of the investment required.

Under existing legislation, the Dublin Airport Authority owns and is responsible for the operation, management and development of Dublin Airport. That is the legislative mandate given to the authority. As policy maker, the State must be satisfied that any future framework for the provision of terminal capacity at the airport, covering both the development and operation of such facilities, ensures the optimum development of Dublin Airport.

Once the Government makes a decision with regard to the provision of capacity, the detailed planning and implementation process will address the issue of the optimum location of the terminal. As a general principle, the objective is to use available assets as effectively as possible in the interests of the efficient operation of Dublin Airport. As regards the timetable for the project, clearly considerable emphasis will be placed on implementing the project as quickly as possible to meet projected passenger growth and the aim is to have new capacity in place in 2009. The request for expressions of interest in August 2002 was a preliminary canvassing of the market to test the level of interest in and feasibility of the independent terminal concept. These expressions were then examined by the Mullarkey panel. The expressions did not identify working examples of independent competing terminals and the panel noted this concept had no corollary elsewhere.

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