Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important issue for discussion and the Minister for attending in person. I apologise on behalf of Deputy Joe McHugh for his absence; he has been unavoidably detained elsewhere. It would be remiss of me not to commend Deputy Dan Neville on raising a matter that is related to the issue I am raising to the extent that access to County Kerry is hampered by shortcomings in the road network. Bottlenecks in Adare, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale, for example, make road access to the county difficult and increase journey times. It is vital, therefore, that County Kerry retains its air link with Dublin, the main hub connecting us with the rest of the world. Similarly, Donegal does not have a great road network and needs to retain flights to the capital.

The Minister was the first member of Cabinet I met following my election to the Dáil in 2011. At that meeting, we discussed the need to continue flights between Kerry and Dublin beyond 2011 and the Minister, to his great credit, subsequently decided to maintain the air link between counties Kerry and Donegal and the capital. These services provide an economic lifeline for both counties. I welcome the Minister's recent decision to place the service provided on both routes out to tender once the current public service obligation contracts expire in November.

The purpose of raising this topic is to ascertain the current position, including the plans for the routes and the timeline anticipated for realising them. People are concerned that, with the current contract set to expire in November, there may be a hiatus during which flights between Dublin and counties Kerry and Donegal will cease. Will the Minister assure the House that every effort is being made prevent such a scenario?

Kerry Airport has a significant impact on the county and I am sure if Deputy McHugh were present, he would make a similar point with regard to Donegal Airport. Kerry Airport employs 50 people directly and a further 53 people indirectly. The staff payroll amounts to more than €500,000, which goes into the local economy. The air link between County Kerry and Dublin should not be viewed in isolation as it makes the airport viable. It is this viability that has attracted flights from London, Luton and Frankfurt Hahn and a service, primarily outbound, to Faro in Portugal. These international flight connections have a significant impact on the local economy. I have met large numbers of visitors from the United Kingdom and Germany, primarily in summer, many of whom told me that the availability of the air link was the reason for their visit to County Kerry. Most of them would not otherwise visit the county and they spend substantial sums locally.

Kerry Airport is a vital lifeline for the county, which must be maintained and developed. Last week, I contacted Ryanair to ask whether it had plans to establish new routes from the airport, particularly to the north of the United Kingdom with which we do not have a link. If possible, I would also like a transatlantic route established at the airport at some point.

I ask the Minister to provide an update on the current position and commend him again on the support he has shown for Kerry Airport. I know he wants what is best for the airport. Any support or information he can provide will be appreciated.

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