Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)

I cannot give Deputy O'Hara a timeline, and I am not at all being evasive because we have commenced the preparatory work for the review. There will also be an updating and there is a clear commitment in the programme for Government on updating the regional airports programme. There will be a new programme for 2026 to 2030. This means we would need most of the work concluded this year or by the end of quarter 1 next year. This very much depends on stakeholder engagement and engagement from all members and on how the Oireachtas joint committee operates.

There is capacity in our regional airports and I want to see it used but the Government cannot direct airlines to fly out of other airports. Airlines decide where they fly. Our airports need to be hungry to go after this business also. We saw this in Cork last week, when the Taoiseach and the Ministers of State, Deputies Buttimer and Canney, were there, with regard to a €200 million capital investment in Cork Airport. We have also seen investment in Shannon Airport to be able to grow its numbers. This is something we want to support our airports to do. It is not one or the other. It is not Dublin Airport or the regional airports. We can grow all of our airports

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