Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her response. Will that €3.5 million be paid out to the three airports in 2020? Ireland West Airport Knock will need €3 million of that alone because that is the kind of loss it is facing. In the context of €10 million being paid to Shannon and Cork airports, I believe €3 million for an airport that delivers over 800,000 passengers is a pretty small ask.

I welcome the multiannual funding and acknowledge that. How much of the €21.3 million for the programme for 2021 is broken down towards the public service obligation, PSO, route and how much is broken down for capital or expenditure? How much of that €21.3 million in 2021 will actually be given to operational expenses? While I welcome the multiannual funding, unless we get decisions in the next few weeks, by the end of five years Ireland West Airport Knock will be in a different place from where it could be.

As the Minister of State said, this time last year we were moving with the runway allocation, the majority of which was paid for from within the airports own resources. We are, however, also looking at the area around the airport. We had the strategic development plan in place and developing it to its potential was always envisaged. However, here we are 12 months later as a consequence of Covid-19, which I accept, and the airport is once again fighting for survival.

All we are looking for is a level playing pitch, and similar to the announcement made last week of €10 million to airports which previously got substantial funding in the form of debt write-offs, new major terminal buildings, etc., I ask that our airport, Ireland West Airport Knock, gets a level playing pitch in recognition of its size. Maybe it is time to separate it from the regional airports and give it an acknowledgement of the role that it plays as a very major airport on the Atlantic economic corridor and on the west coast.

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