Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister and appreciate his clarification. He spoke about subvention and the difficulty that a subsidiary would not be independent if it was dependent on another for subvention. The Booz & Company report makes it clear that an airport with fewer than 5 million passengers would not be self-sustaining. Therefore, it would require a subvention from somewhere and it would be from one arm of the State or another. One cannot expect local authorities to find a fanciful pool of money in the current climate. The Minister is sitting beside the Minister of Finance who is well aware that local authorities do not have the money required; neither does Shannon Development. There was a time when it had a strong rent roll or revenue generating capacity from its asset base, but this has been well compromised because of the downturn in its revenue streams.

The Minister is looking at allowing the local authorities to close the airport should it fall into their hands, as they would be left with no choice but to scale down operations and ultimately close it because of the very significant cost of running it. Even with trimming back airport operations further, I cannot see how it has the capacity to survive. The Minister has made the point that what is needed is something that will initiate growth. I do not know how this growth in passenger numbers will be generated in the short term. At best, as some seek to suggest, with independent status, the airport could somehow compete with Cork and Dublin Airports, but I doubt it has the capacity to compete effectively in this space. All that would happen is passengers would be taken from these airports, which would ultimately compromise their balance sheets and revenue streams.

We need an overall policy. In fairness, the Minister has been working on such a policy through some of the measures he has introduced to increase the level of inward activity which will help all of the airports. However, he must look at the provision of a subvention as the only realistic method of retaining the airport and ensuring its future viability. I question his capacity to subvent it in a separated environment. He can continue to do so while it is attached via an umbilical cord to the umbrella group or the CIE model but outside this he would have real difficulties. Whether he likes it, he may not be in a position to prevent its ultimate closure if there is a further deterioration in economic activity or the level of airline travel.

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