Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

It is difficult to be the sixth person to speak because much has already been said about this issue. However, the issue can be crystalised into a simple line — a deal was done and now it has been broken for political convenience and nothing else. The decision to split up Aer Rianta, which Fine Gael supported in 2003, greatly worried Cork Airport at the time. As the Minister from Cork knows, the decision to build a new airport terminal at the site had been made at that stage. The plan was that this would be paid for by the cash cow that was then Dublin Airport. In an effort to bring Cork on board with that policy, the Minister rightly did a deal with Cork Airport that it would not be shouldered with any debt associated with the building of a new terminal. It was stated that the new Dublin Airport Authority would pay for it and, in order to compensate it for this decision, it was given the asset base of the Great Southern Hotels group and Aer Rianta International. It was a simple deal that made sense for everybody.

Since the decision, circumstances have changed. Now that the deal is done and is more or less irreversible, the Dublin Airport Authority has successfully lobbied the Government to change its view and break the deal. There seems to be a tendency to blame the former Minister for Transport for this U-turn. The implication is that replacing a former Minister with a new Minister requires a new policy. That is rubbish. The decision was made by the Government, including the Taoiseach. The Taoiseach stated:

As I said last week, it is the Minister's view that both Cork and Shannon have an excellent future with this debt-free start. He brought this view to Government last week and the Government agreed with him. The new boards at the independent airports in Cork and Shannon will provide dynamic futures for those regions and it was on that basis that the decisions were made.

This is clear. The Taoiseach then went to Cork Airport and personally reassured staff there that the new airport, when built, would be a competitive airport that could commence business without having to carry any debt. More than one or two staff told this to me. They were told it would be debt-free because it would be challenging to compete with the huge bases of Dublin and Shannon airports.

The deal was done and it was fair to all. It was convenient at the time because it got the political deal done. Now circumstances have changed and, on foot of the troubles and the plans to develop Dublin Airport, the Government's plans have changed. It has decided to lumber Cork Airport with a debt it cannot afford to finance. This represents the most blatant broken political promise in the lifetime of the Government.

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