John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for interrupting Deputy O'Donnell and agree with his points on balanced regional development.

The Bill concerns itself with the reorganisation and restructuring of Shannon and Cork airports. It makes provisions for pension schemes and the commercial relationships between the airports and State agencies. However, it also represents a determined intent to transform, modernise and prepare our airports for commercial interaction in what has become an incredibly competitive industry. Across the Continent, airlines are engaged in what can only be described as intense and sometimes vicious competition on particular routes and in particular regions. Due to the European recession, that competition has resulted in difficult business decisions being made, the results of which are well known domestically. Unfortunately, airports like Sligo and Galway no longer provide commercial services, some airlines have gone out of business and routes have been discontinued. For this reason, it is all the more important that the Government should step in during hard economic times and protect vital regional infrastructure. This should not be done stupidly or at any cost by pouring money into chronic loss-making entities, but by investing in regional airports with an understanding of their critical nature to regional economies and of the social benefits gained from direct air services.

The impact of a regional airport goes well beyond the direct effect of an airport's actual operation on its immediate location. Accessibility through direct air services is important to regional business growth and consumers. If we are to achieve appreciable growth rates in the coming years, we must continue investing in an efficient transport system, one that allows us to take full advantage of the Internal Market and globalised trade. This is what the Bill is concerned with.

It has not been easy for my regional airport in Waterford and the past few years have been a struggle for everyone involved, but it is fair to say that the work and patience displayed by the Minister and departmental officials are paying off. Like others, I have made the case in recent years that the Government's financial investment in Waterford Regional Airport would eventually produce an economic dividend for the region. The figures supplied to me in respect of the first five months of this year strongly indicate this is the case. I hope they represent a turning point after a number of difficult years.

Flybe operates two commercial routes to the UK from Waterford - one to Birmingham and the other to Manchester. There was an increase of 74% in passenger traffic on those two routes in the first five months of this year compared with the same period in 2013, amounting to more than 12,000 inbound and outbound flights. The take-up of seats or passenger load figures continue to increase. The increase in the Birmingham service is 70% plus and the newer Manchester route is improving steadily, with an increase of more than 60%. Some of the factors in these substantial increases are good marketing, an uplift in the UK economy and, perhaps most importantly, a determination on the part of the Minister, the Department, the airport's management and everyone involved to make this work. It is working. Slowly but surely, Waterford is proving business can be found if an airport sticks at it.

This is not to say that there are no unresolved issues. Money continues to be raised on the ground to supplement a Government investment that I hope will continue. The planning process for the runway extension is nearing completion and an arbitration process will proceed within the coming months, all of which should amount to an additional 200-250 m of runway. Talks are continuing with commercial operators regarding the restoration of the Waterford-London route. We are hopeful that the figures for the first five months of this year will help in that regard. It is also fair to say that the region's local authorities have helped a great deal by making the airport a priority and stepping up their involvement.

This Bill and primary and secondary legislation like it are vital to economic recovery. For my region, they are fundamental. Thankfully, the Department and the Minister seem to share this view and are actively working on that basis. I am not going to bash the previous Administration but, for the life of me, I could never understand why barely a penny was invested in Waterford Regional Airport in the years when we had money to spend on infrastructure. There were plenty of announcements by sitting Ministers, but nothing happened. This Government has initiated a process with the airport management that is contingent on money being raised locally. I hope it will lead to additional business. The key factor is that the Government has the imagination to see the possibilities and to invest in critical infrastructure when times are tough. The figures I have cited should go some way towards reassuring the people central to these decisions that a focused regional airport strategy can work.

When the National Treasury Management Agency Bill was before the House a couple of weeks ago, I referred to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, that formed part of that legislation. The fund consists of €6.8 billion of public money, which it is hoped will link with private funds in commercial investments around the country. The weakness in the fund is that no consideration for a balanced regional spread has been included in the legislation. Almost all of the money could conceivably end up where it has exclusively gone for the past 20 years, namely, Dublin, Cork and Galway. I hope that the Bill will be amended in the coming weeks to include references to the balanced regional development to which Deputy O'Donnell alluded and to have the ISIF administered on that basis.

That aside, our continued targeted investment in regional airports achieves the same thing to a great extent because the allocation of foreign direct investment is lopsided and goes, for the most part, to three particular locations. It is important that we stay the course when it comes to Shannon, Cork, Waterford and the other regional airports and hopefully this legislation will achieve the same thing and make investments in these regional airports more important than ever for the obvious reasons, namely, attracting new inward investment from outside the area and especially overseas companies, retaining existing companies in the area, securing the expansion of existing companies in the face of competition with other countries, promoting the export success of companies located in the area by providing passenger and freight links to key markets, adding to the quality of life of citizens by enabling ease of travel, and attract inbound tourism to any area, generating employment in the tourism industry.

I appreciate the work the Minister and his Department have put into the Bill and hope they will consider what I have said. The 74% increase in passenger numbers at Waterford Regional Airport this year, albeit from a very small base, is not only significant for my constituency but it should be significant for all regional airports and for everyone working in and associated with them. It is also significant from a policy perspective. When a recession bites it is even more important that a government spends its money wisely. I hope the 74% increase in passenger numbers at Waterford Regional Airport demonstrates that additional CAPEX and OPEX funding for Waterford and the other regional airports is smart business and is a positive for the country's economy as a whole.

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