Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

The Minister has misled the House. There was certainly no extensive consultation before his announcement last week that he was cutting the PSO levy for services between Dublin, Sligo, Galway, Knock and Derry airports. The announcement came as a shock and surprise to many. We were expecting to have a robust and, potentially, difficult debate around the future of regional airports, their funding and State supports and putting in place a new and more effective PSO to link regional airports with Dublin. No one was expecting the Minister to announce the Government was pulling PSO funding from four airports in the west without publishing the value for money review. The review should have been the subject of a debate in this House before significant decisions were taken that will impact seriously on the west and regional development policy. Will he explain the rationale behind his decision to cut the PSO levies?

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