Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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On the day we spoke about Dáil reform, I am very disappointed to see some bad habits continue in that the Minister did not bother to come to the House to take the Adjournment debate. I always decried this when I was in government and I always made a special attempt to come to the House. I think I missed an Adjournment debate in the Dáil and Seanad on only two occasions, when I could not possibly have been there. It is bad form that the Minister responsible does not have the courtesy to be in the House.

We are discussing a serious issue, which is the future of Galway Airport because it cannot survive in the short term without operational expenditure funding, OPEX, funding. For a long time, the Department of Transport, now the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, has felt that Galway Airport is surplus to requirement. A value for money report was produced, but it was flawed because it suggested people could get from Shannon to Carraroe in an hour or an hour and a half. One would hardly get from Galway to Carraroe in that time. It also suggested one could get from Shannon to Carraroe much quicker than one could get from Dublin Airport to Kinnegad and this is quite ridiculous.

The decision made by the previous Government, of which I was part, to discontinued the PSO between Galway and Dublin was reasonable because the number of passengers on the route has dropped dramatically since the introduction of the motorway. PSO passengers between Galway and Dublin amount to 20% of the total passengers whereas they used to amount to 40%. Galway Airport is vital for access off the island of Ireland.

The Department has made a consistent argument that there are too many airports on the west coast and that the number is disproportionate compared to the east coast. I suggest we look at the facts. The east coast of Ireland has four airports, two in Belfast, one in Dublin and one in Waterford. The west coast of Ireland has six airports, and it is one and a half times the length of the east coast and much more indented. This gives the exact same proportion of airports to mile of coast, not taking into account that the west coast is far more indented than the east coast.

The Department always forgets the fact that there are 35,000 people in Connemara along with the 25,000 people west of Galway city, who are landlocked. Unless one goes to County Mayo, the only way out of Connemara is between Lough Corrib and the sea. Therefore, it is vital that the airport continues to serve the people. There is a demand for it. When I was Minister, I met the IDA which stated the airport was vital for business development in Galway. It is also vital for the local people who use it and for tourism.

For some reason, the Minister is making a principle out of a practicality. The cost is €1.5 million.. It is amazing the same Department can spend €6 million this year on eliminating roundabouts in Galway and putting in traffic lights when, given a free choice, the people of Galway would much prefer to keep the airport and make do with roundabouts for the moment. It is also a fact that the Department is not short of money this year because it had factored in going ahead with work on the N17 and N18 roads along with work at Newlands Cross and on the road to Arklow. These projects are not going ahead because the private money to match the public money could not be found.

The idea that from a budget of €619 million money cannot be provided for priority transport that is of strategic importance to a region is, in my view as somebody with experience of being a Minister, unrealistic. The Minister is making a principle out of a practicality. For some reason, he believes this airport should not be supported and no valid reason has been given for ordering the demise of the airport for the sake of €1.5 million when there are plenty of alternatives.

Fine Gael seems to have a problem with airports in the west of Ireland. It is well known that James Dillon stated all that would run on the airport in Shannon were rabbits. It is also well known that when Jim Mitchell was a Minister, he stated the airport in Knock would be a soggy boggy hill. The Minister of State is from Mayo and knows well the huge success of that airport. Last month was its most successful month ever. Having failed with regard to two airports in the west it is now targeting another.

Galway will not accept the demise of its airport. We need that airport for development. In a week that it is rumoured that the Government will remove the enterprise functions from Údarás na Gaeltachta it would appear the Government has decided the west is surplus to requirements and that anything west of Leixlip is irrelevant. If the Minister wants to think that way that is fine but we will fight tooth and nail to retain our airport, which is so vital to the west of Ireland and the Galway region.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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I advise the House that I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, who genuinely cannot be here this evening. I appreciate the Deputy opposite was very attentive to Adjournment debates and I acknowledge this. However, as I stated the Minister is unavoidably absent this evening and I assure the Deputy-----

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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It is amazing they are all unavoidably absent. The Minster for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, was unavoidably-----

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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I was taking an Adjournment debate on behalf of the Department of Foreign Affairs, where I am Minister of State.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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This is the usual trick. It used to happen in our Government also. It is reprehensible.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is aware of the contribution of Galway Airport to the region. However, the Deputy will be well aware of the difficulties the Minister is now facing with regard to the lack of funding available for the regional airports programme for 2011 and in future years, following the reductions made by the previous Fianna Fáil-led Government. This is a fact and it is indisputable. Deputy Ó Cuív will be acutely aware of the funding provided to the regional airport programme for 2011 and its implications, given that he was a member of the Government: that made that decision.

At the same time as the available funding is reducing , some of the regional airports are becoming more dependent on Exchequer support of some sort. Given the State's current financial position, such a position is obviously not sustainable. A total allocation of €13.4 million is available for the regional airports programme for 2011. Of this allocation, €11.4 million is for current expenditure. Current expenditure is spent on the PSO air services of which more than €10 million has already been committed, with the remainder being available to cover the operational losses of the airports.

Based on a decision of the previous Fianna Fáil-led Government, after existing commitments for PSO air services to July 2011 and for new PSO air services from Kerry and Donegal to Dublin are accounted for, only €0.6 million is available for operational subvention for airports in 2011 whereas €4.8 million was paid out in 2010. The Department understands that the operational subvention for Galway Airport alone will be in excess of €1.5 million in 2011.

A further €2 million in the regional airports programme is available for capital projects at the airports, all of which is committed. This compares to expenditure of €21.2 million on the programme in 2010 and €200 million in the past ten years.

The value for money review published by the previous Fianna Fáil-led Government in January 2011 recommended that funding for PSO air services between Dublin and the regional airports be discontinued when current contracts end in July 2011, except for the Donegal to Dublin service, and that operational expenditure funding, OPEX, and capital expenditure funding, CAPEX, be discontinued for Sligo and Galway airports. These recommendations took into account changes in EU legislation, airport performances, the substantial investment in surface transport, overlapping catchment areas, the best use of scarce Exchequer resources and the implications for the tourism and business sectors in the regions.

The Minister is aware of the implications for both Galway and Sligo Airports arising from these recommendations. However, in the context of addressing the lack of funding issue, he has to take into account developments in recent years as highlighted in the review and the need to focus on ensuring the sustainability of a strong network of regional airports servicing the public, both in terms of business and tourism.

No decision on the funding for regional airports for 2011 and future years has yet been made by the Government. In the circumstances, it would be inappropriate at this stage to comment on the possible outcome of the Government's deliberations. However, it is clear that, in the current difficult climate, any decisions will have to take account of available Exchequer funds.