Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

I should state for the Minister's benefit that he is the most consistent Minister in this Government for persisting in wasting public money and, unfortunately, his decision will have ramifications, not only in the €100 million which he has apportioned to the incoming board of Cork Airport Authority whenever it is allowed be independent, but in how that airport has an opportunity to become viable in the future.

He has added insult to that injury by deciding that he knows how to manage such an airport by stating that there will not be any requirement to increase airport charges and he seems to be joined in that point of view by my constituency colleague, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin. He is further joined by another Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, who stated that Cork has got the bargain of the century in being apportioned €100 million of debt. The reality is that if the airport is to be viable, the incoming airport authority will have to be sufficiently profitable to pay the interest on this €100 million loan, the term payments on that loan and to build up a reserve to allow for future developments in this airport. What kind of mad economics is this from the Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, who has managed to personify every mad economic infrastructural decision that this Government has put together in the past five years?

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