Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, for taking this debate. There is growing concern in the wider Cork area about the future of our airport, which has seen a 5% reduction in passenger numbers in 2014. It is likely to see a similar reduction in 2015 because of the full year effect of some of the services lost during 2014. This is happening against the backdrop of the other main airports in the country, including Shannon and Dublin airports, growing substantially.

It goes without saying that Cork Airport has great strengths, including modern facilities, a new terminal, a large population base and a strong track record of customer service but it is struggling badly. The new arrangement at Shannon Airport have resulted in Cork having a competitive disadvantage. The new arrangements at Shannon have distorted the market and the fact that Cork Airport is competing with a newly independent Shannon Airport, which is also debt free and has the benefit of a stream of income from Shannon commercial enterprises. I am not sure anyone thought through the consequences for Cork Airport of the new arrangements and the restructuring at Shannon Airport.

This is a need, not an issue of Cork Airport versus Shannon Airport. We wish Shannon Airport well and the best of luck to it. Shannon Airport seems to have got a very good deal from the Government and we wish it well in its future. From the perspective of Cork, it has had direct consequences. Ryanair has transferred a number of services directly from Cork Airport to Shannon Airport. More fundamentally, the capacity of Cork Airport to compete is seriously impaired. Cork Airport is not in a position to offer free charges for a period of five or six years, as Shannon is reported to have done for Ryanair. Cork Airport is not grant-aided by the State and it has no State subsidy or public service obligation. There is no direct air link to the capital or to the US. A major initiative is required to ensure the future of Cork Airport is strong and sustainable. We have lost vital routes, such as Nice and Lisbon and we have seen a reduction of service to Munich. The Brussels route was also withdrawn for a time and I mentioned the transfer of a number of Ryanair's Polish routes from Cork to Shannon.

Cork Airport remains under the control of the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, which needs to be examined when considering the future of the airport. Such is the concern locally that a Facebook page, Save Cork Airport, was established in November and already has 23,000 likes. Cork Airport has debts of €200 million, which sit within the consolidated financial accounts of the DAA. I am not suggesting that an independent, debt-free Cork Airport could offer the kind of deals being offered in Shannon. Cork Airport must pay its staff, the fire service, airport police, security staff, cleaning and maintenance staff and so forth. We need a sustainable model and in my supplementary question I will refer to the Heathrow slots. I do not expect the Minister to go into detail on it but I have a number of suggestions on how our position could be improved. The starting point is to acknowledge a problem at Cork Airport. It is not a problem with local management, which is doing its best working within tight restrictions but, undoubtedly, the new reality of the arrangement at Shannon Airport has had a direct negative impact on Cork Airport. It is a reality we must face up to or the decline of Cork Airport will continue, which is something none of us wants to see.

See this speech in context