Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

What is happening might have the potential to be good news for Shannon Airport, but I am obliged to wonder why it is being done at the expense of Knock Airport. The Minister appeared to be explicit in this regard. Knock Airport is situated in County Mayo, some 20 miles from where I live, and one of the few success stories in the area. It is a beacon of hope for those who of us who live in the area because we would like a tourism industry to be developed. Obviously, a thriving airport would be of major assistance in that regard. Knock Airport is located within a very short driving distance of many golf courses and fully stocked fish sanctuaries which are empty for most of the year. It is in the perfect place in developing the west.

I was very concerned when I heard the Minister state the Government was going to develop Shannon Airport and that this would be done by damaging Knock Airport. The chairman of Knock Airport, Liam Scollan, issued an excellent statement on this matter in which he stated:

The decision to intervene so generously in one airport while ignoring other airports amounted to an unfair, wasteful and possibly illegal use of scarce resources, which would not serve the interests of national aviation. They could trigger the terminal decline of an efficient, growing airport like Knock, which has begun to compete successfully with the State owned Shannon at a fraction of the cost. It was also a financially disastrous policy for hard pressed taxpayers.

As I said in my budget speech, Governments are normally either pro-people or pro-business. This Government is not pro-anything; its motto is "Let's find a handy solution and throw it out there without considering whether it will work." The statement continues:

This decision is connected to Knock’s emergence as a credible international airport. Today it has circa 700,000 passengers and 28 overseas destinations and with Europe’s largest airlines Ryanair and Lufthansa together with Aer Lingus and Flybe. The Airport currently has 45% of the UK Seat Capacity market in the West of Ireland including Shannon.

One would imagine that such a business would be encouraged rather than faced with the possibility of a kicking. It continues: "The decision avoids any attempt to benchmark and look for value for money." I thought this was a Government policy.  "Knock’s commercial growth meant that in 2012, it managed to fund 92% of its total operating costs with just 8% coming from Government."  The airport does not need rendition flights to make it viable. The statement continues:

By contrast, Shannon Airport has losses now reaching €8m per year, even after additional subsidies. The funding of losses at Shannon Airport costs €6.10 per passenger while the comparative figure for Ireland West Airport Knock is just €0.87.  

I am not saying Shannon is not worth it, but the corresponding figure for Knock airport is just 87 cent. The statement continues:

A series of Government statements has indicated that its aviation strategy was focussing on and supporting just one airport. In one such statement it was highlighted that a change in Government policy would be required to stop Knock catching up with Shannon.

Knock Airport is surviving pretty much on its own yet the Government is trying to stop it. The statement continues:

On 31st March 2012, quoted in the national media, Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar TD said: 'If nothing was done for Shannon the airport stood in danger of being passed out by Knock airport in passenger numbers, despite a current gap of over 900,000 passengers. [...] I think if the trends continue as they are it will happen because Shannon’s numbers are already down 20 per cent this year and Knock is still growing. It is only a matter of time without a change in policy.'

The Government decided it had better change its policy or Knock would keep growing. God forbid Knock would keep growing. Then again, the Government does not want any growth in these areas. Its policies have destroyed these areas, as stated officially by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. The statement continues:

This parochial decision by Government to blindly pump cash into one State airport, in the absence of any attention to its impacts on a competing airport like Knock, ignores warnings from the Government’s own aviation advisers at Booz and Co. In their report to Government earlier this year they stated that the Government should not proceed with a support package for Shannon before developing a coherent policy towards airports for the country as a whole.

That seems like a sensible policy but, then again, we have given up on the Government in this regard. The statement continues: "Such an approach would have meant looking at the efficiencies of an airport such as Knock and allocating investment where it could get the best return for the tax payer." This sounds like another good idea. It continues:

However, by announcing its package for Shannon ... the Government has made a clear nonsense of its second announcement ... to commence the preparation of a national aviation strategy.


Over the past 18 months, [Knock airport] presented Government with a series of innovative proposals which would lead to 1000’s more tourists and 100’s of jobs in both tourism and aviation related industries.

We have a business that is doing well. Why would the Government want to stop it doing well? It is an amazing admission on the part of the Government. It is an even more amazing admission given that four out of five Mayo Deputies are members of Fine Gael.

At the next general election they will not be able to ask voters to vote for them on the grounds that a Government Deputy will be able to do something for them. They will be able to do something all right, namely, manage the lowering of the number of passengers to Knock Airport in order to facilitate Shannon Airport. I have no problem with Shannon Airport and hope it thrives, but it needs to work in tandem with Knock Airport and the whole region, rather than having a desperate stand-alone policy to try to save a few votes for a few Government Deputies in the area.

I understand the Knock Airport group which includes Mr. Liam Scollan appeared before the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications last week. It stated it had serious concerns about the quality and level of engagement with the Government. Mr. Scollan stated:

We have met Minister Varadkar and his officials on numerous occasions, but our representations have not been afforded fair consideration. In fact, the Minister is clearly on the record in both national and local media that Knock Airport was the problem for Shannon and that he intended to develop policies to rectify that.

What does that mean? The meaning is obvious - the Government is going to attempt to destroy one of the most successful entities in Connacht. Mr. Scollan has stated: "Hopefully he [the Minister] may soon commence to see that his and the Government’s policies are a cause of great concern for the airport and the community of 800,000 it serves."

The Government has failed at trying to keep people in the country. Knock Airport is not just for tourists as it provides the only opportunity men and women who must go to work in London during the week have to see their families at the weekend, yet the Government wants to damage and banjax it. Well done.

See this speech in context