Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is no question of the State taking on the debts of any airport. There is potential to work out the debt whereby the debt would stay with the DAA which would continue to pay interest on it but it would no longer have to cover the operating losses which exist at Shannon Airport. It could be done in such a way that it would not seriously impact on the balance sheet of the DAA, or what will be the new DAA which will have a new name taking into account that it will not just be a Dublin body. This must be worked out, but there is certainly no question of the Exchequer taking on the debts of any airport.

There are no plans for the sale of Shannon Airport to a private buyer, nor has there been any expression of interest. If someone was willing to invest in the airport, one could not turn a blind eye, but it has not arisen and there are no plans in that regard.

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