Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The problem here is that Shannon Airport is a different creature from Dublin Airport, which has a monopoly. The latter must have a regulator for that reason. The Commission for Aviation Regulation regulates all elements of the activities at Dublin Airport very strictly. The regulation in Shannon Airport is much restricted, as I said in my opening remarks, to terminals and other groups. The difficulty here is that the airport is a business within the Shannon Group, which was established in 2014, and a State-owned enterprise with a fully commercial mandate. It is not considered appropriate or necessary to bring Shannon Airport within the framework of the regional airports programme. The regional airports are nakedly and openly subsidised but Shannon Airport is not considered suitable for a clear subsidy because it has a commercial mandate and competitors. It is not regulated by the CAR except in very limited circumstances.

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