James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is a little unrealistic to categorise this as some sort of once in a lifetime opportunity for the State and that the funding is not required until the end. Effectively the State has been asked to take a loan from private interests to be paid back pro rata when it is completed. Whether the money comes at the start, middle or end, the fact is the State is being asked to contribute significant funding to buy a pig in poke based on a business case that, to be frank, could be a lot stronger. If it can be strengthened, I am open to revisions of it and examining it further. I said there was no impediment whatsoever to the project proceeding as a private enterprise, should it wish. The State is being asked, however, to contribute. The structure being proposed is that the State would contribute immediately once construction ends, before a single plane has taken off. The business case is also predicated on that basis that its first year of operation would exceed its best ever figures of operation in the past. In year one in the new environment, it would beat the best ever year in the previous environment. In reality, figures declined from 2008 to 2016 when the airport ceased scheduled activities. One could point to the M9 motorway and ask if that is a factor in that decline. The region is well served in other ways. I am open to the idea but the proposal must be strengthened.

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