Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has a transcript. I will tell him what I said. Any of the provisions in the Bill can be used by any airport. There is a tax break for any airport to build hangars and the apron outside a hangar. There is no tie-in with Shannon Airport. There is no suggestion the new Shannon Airport Authority will be the investor. This is a provision for private investors who might go to Shannon or any other airport to build hangars for aircraft refurbishment. It is a tax break for private investors. All this rigmarole about Shannon Airport having rented buildings around the airport has nothing to do with this. It would not be applied to rented buildings which represents income for the day-to-day running of the place because it had no other income for years. This is about private investors coming into airports. If Knock, Dublin, Cork or any other regional airport can attract the activity of refurbishment of aircraft as a business, wants to build hangars and aprons to facilitate this activity and if it can get investors to invest in it, it can do so. It will be on exactly the same basis as Shannon Airport. The only advantage Shannon Airport has is that historically it has had a small refurbishment industry which it is now trying to expand in its new circumstances where it has been separated from the Dublin Airport Authority and is receiving a mandate to secure its own future. If Knock Airport wants to build hangars and can attract the activity of aircraft refurbishment, it will receive the same tax breaks. There is no Shannon Airport-specific measure. This measure applies to all airports.

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