Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

On the previous occasion on which the Minister took questions, we engaged in a lengthy discussion in respect of this matter. It is extraordinary that a dummy competition or tendering process, in which many distinguished companies were involved, was run by his Department, only for the latter to then fall back on the Commission for Aviation Regulation's basic charging determination. In view of the fact that it was already in possession of that determination, it appears that the Government, on behalf of the State, has spent €700,000 on something which did not yield a result.

The Minister indicated that the DAA must provide him with an outlook on its capacity to run Terminal 2. When does he expect to be presented with the DAA's report? Will it emerge before November? What would happen if the Minister decided that, in effect, he needed to fall back on a competition process? Would it then be necessary to run a second tendering competition. He indicated previously that none of the bidders, such as Ferrovial, the British Airport Authority, and so on, met the requirements set down as part of the tendering competition. This is despite the fact that many of those bidders run massive operations elsewhere. When does the Minister expect to be in a position to approve the DAA's plan? Does the Minister expect Terminal 2 to open, as planned, in November?

Recent media reports indicate that companies such as Air India are considering establishing a European hub to be based at Terminal 2. Is there any basis to such reports?

The new Terminal 2 will be a valuable national facility. However, there are grave fears that the wages and conditions of those who work there will be significantly less favourable than those enjoyed by employees at other airport terminals throughout the country. Does the Minister possess any information in respect of this matter?

See this speech in context