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

I want to confirm for Deputy Griffin that the existing contracts will be extended to February to ensure continuity and no loss of service over the winter period.

The Deputy makes some valid points. Government decisions should take account of not only the simple narrow balance sheet but also the wider economic benefits that derive from air connections, whether they be tourism, investment or business. He is, of course, correct to say that there are benefits for Dublin Airport as well as Kerry and Donegal in that landing fees are charged and the routes from Donegal and Kerry help to feed routes from Dublin to Britain, Europe and other parts of the world and make them more sustainable. That is true.

Notwithstanding all of that, the budget for regional airports is €12 million a year and, unfortunately, I do not expect that to increase. Of that, approximately €7.5 million goes on those two PSO routes and I do not expect that to increase either. I am not in a position to write any blank cheques to anyone at this stage. We need to see what tenders come in. If I can give any signal from here, it is that we expect the airlines to put forward good value propositions so we can continue these routes well into 2015 and beyond.

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