Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

Proposals on the development of Dublin Airport, including the planning and provision of runway capacity, are in the first instance a matter for the Dublin Airport Authority which has statutory responsibility to manage, operate and develop the airport and to provide such facilities and services as it considers necessary for aircraft and passengers. Dublin Airport is the country's main airport serving the needs not just of the travelling public in our capital city and the surrounding counties but also of the country's tourism, business and freight sectors. Notwithstanding the welcome increase over recent years in traffic at Shannon and Cork airports and at the regional airports, Dublin Airport will remain crucial to the national economy.

Passenger traffic through Dublin Airport is expected to grow to more than 18 million in the current year and is forecast to increase to 30 million by around 2015. The company is engaged in an ongoing programme of capital works to ensure adequate capacity at the airport in future. This programme includes the provision of a second parallel runway early in the next decade.

The national spatial strategy has acknowledged that the expansion of the level of air services from Dublin Airport to a wider range of destinations is essential in the interests of underpinning Ireland's future international competitiveness. The DAA submitted its application for planning permission for the proposed new runway to Fingal County Council in December 2004. The company responded in August this year to a request from the planning authority for further information. More recently, Fingal County Council sought clarification from the DAA regarding elements of that further information. The current planning process provides the appropriate forum for interested parties, including local communities and residents, to have their views and any concerns heard and taken into account by the planning authorities.

Dublin Airport has the scope and potential to expand to cater for future growth in air traffic for the foreseeable future. Much of the land necessary for the new runway was acquired in the late 1960s and in 1972, the then Dublin County Council included the proposed new runway in the county development plan. As a result of good long-term planning stretching back over four decades, the capacity now exists to provide the proposed second parallel runway and facilitate the continued growth and development of Dublin Airport. Unlike a number of other major European cities, we are particularly fortunate that the long-term planning for the development of Dublin Airport means that the existing facility can be developed to its maximum potential although it is located little more than six miles from the city centre.

The airport is also a major contributor to the local economy in Fingal and nationally. More than 100 companies are located at the airport site providing thousands of valuable jobs directly and indirectly. The continued growth and development of the airport will provide for further employment growth in and around the airport campus.

The Minister for Transport does not propose to conduct a cost benefit analysis of the runway project nor does he propose to commission any study of alternative options for the provision of airport capacity to serve the greater Dublin area. Subject to planning permission, it is envisaged that the Dublin Airport Authority will provide such capacity through the expansion of existing facilities and infrastructure at Dublin Airport. The continued growth of our business, tourism and manufacturing sectors, which are vital for the country's future economic development, relies on adequate transport infrastructure being available to accommodate that growth. This is as true for airport infrastructure as it is for other modes of transport. It is important for the continuing development of our economy that not only must existing infrastructure deficiencies in our transport system be addressed, we must also ensure that no new bottlenecks are encountered in future.

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