Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

There are no plans to repeal the State Airports Act. The state of play is that the business plans have been submitted, the DAA commentary on the business plans has been submitted and the two airports, Shannon and Cork, have also submitted letters to me stating their views of the proposal to have separation at this point in time. Both airports remain committed to the concept of separation. The three chairpersons and the chief executive of the Dublin Airport Authority are currently in discussions and I expect them to make contact with me over the next few days to try to finalise this particular matter.

With regard to the investment in airports, it is a fair portrayal of the situation to say that on most occasions every proposed investment in the airports, particularly Dublin Airport, has been opposed by Ryanair, which believes that the Dublin Airport Authority is gold-plating everything in regard to Terminal 2, Pier D and so on. I had the discussion with representatives of Ryanair not that long ago that Government would see the airports, particularly Dublin Airport because of its size——

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