Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Deputy's question and the opportunity it provides to reiterate my full support, and that of the Government, for the provision of additional runway capacity at Dublin Airport. The airport experienced its seventh consecutive year of growth last year, welcoming close to 30 million passengers, and the importance of ensuring that we have adequate airport capacity at our biggest airport to drive national economic growth cannot be overstated.

Project 2040 recognises, at a national level, the importance of delivering the north runway as soon as possible, given its strategic importance for the country. With the award last week by the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, of the main construction contract for the north runway, I look forward to the commencement of the works and their completion in early 2021.

In addition to the north runway, the DAA's focus is on delivering a package of projects that are needed to address existing capacity constraints at the airport, and the authority has recently announced its plans to spend in the region of €900 million by 2023 on an expansion of airside facilities. These projects will ensure that the airport can accommodate the expected growth over the coming years to approximately 40 million passengers. Ireland needs those projects to be completed to ensure maximum international connectivity for the economy.

While there is no question over the priority accorded to addressing the immediate capacity development requirements at Dublin Airport, it would be wrong to lose sight of the need to plan for the longer term. To that end, as the Deputy will be aware, Oxford Economics in conjunctions with Cambridge Economic Policy Associates were contracted last year, in line with a commitment outlined in the national aviation policy, to conduct a high-level strategic capacity review of Ireland's State airports. This review was delivered to me at the end of August and provides a very helpful assessment, which is both specific about short-term actions as well as identifying further work that needs to be undertaken to assist in decision-making for the longer term to 2050.

I am sure the Deputy will agree that it is critical to get strategic development decisions right. To ensure that there is an open approach to the options for Dublin Airport, including any decision on a third terminal, I have just commenced a process of consultation on the review in which all stakeholders will have an opportunity to set out their views. When I have all the views and information available to me, I will carefully consider the issues and make recommendations to the Government in early 2019.

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