Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, for taking this debate. There is growing concern in the wider Cork area about the future of our airport, which has seen a 5% reduction in passenger numbers in 2014. It is likely to see a similar reduction in 2015 because of the full year effect of some of the services lost during 2014. This is happening against the backdrop of the other main airports in the country, including Shannon and Dublin airports, growing substantially.

It goes without saying that Cork Airport has great strengths, including modern facilities, a new terminal, a large population base and a strong track record of customer service but it is struggling badly. The new arrangement at Shannon Airport have resulted in Cork having a competitive disadvantage. The new arrangements at Shannon have distorted the market and the fact that Cork Airport is competing with a newly independent Shannon Airport, which is also debt free and has the benefit of a stream of income from Shannon commercial enterprises. I am not sure anyone thought through the consequences for Cork Airport of the new arrangements and the restructuring at Shannon Airport.

This is a need, not an issue of Cork Airport versus Shannon Airport. We wish Shannon Airport well and the best of luck to it. Shannon Airport seems to have got a very good deal from the Government and we wish it well in its future. From the perspective of Cork, it has had direct consequences. Ryanair has transferred a number of services directly from Cork Airport to Shannon Airport. More fundamentally, the capacity of Cork Airport to compete is seriously impaired. Cork Airport is not in a position to offer free charges for a period of five or six years, as Shannon is reported to have done for Ryanair. Cork Airport is not grant-aided by the State and it has no State subsidy or public service obligation. There is no direct air link to the capital or to the US. A major initiative is required to ensure the future of Cork Airport is strong and sustainable. We have lost vital routes, such as Nice and Lisbon and we have seen a reduction of service to Munich. The Brussels route was also withdrawn for a time and I mentioned the transfer of a number of Ryanair's Polish routes from Cork to Shannon.

Cork Airport remains under the control of the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, which needs to be examined when considering the future of the airport. Such is the concern locally that a Facebook page, Save Cork Airport, was established in November and already has 23,000 likes. Cork Airport has debts of €200 million, which sit within the consolidated financial accounts of the DAA. I am not suggesting that an independent, debt-free Cork Airport could offer the kind of deals being offered in Shannon. Cork Airport must pay its staff, the fire service, airport police, security staff, cleaning and maintenance staff and so forth. We need a sustainable model and in my supplementary question I will refer to the Heathrow slots. I do not expect the Minister to go into detail on it but I have a number of suggestions on how our position could be improved. The starting point is to acknowledge a problem at Cork Airport. It is not a problem with local management, which is doing its best working within tight restrictions but, undoubtedly, the new reality of the arrangement at Shannon Airport has had a direct negative impact on Cork Airport. It is a reality we must face up to or the decline of Cork Airport will continue, which is something none of us wants to see.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The DAA is the body charged with statutory responsibility to manage, operate and develop Dublin and Cork airports. It operates under a clear commercial mandate, is entirely funded from its own resources and receives no Government funding supports. As such, any plans to address the reduction of services at Cork Airport and improve the airport's competitiveness with other airports is a matter for the DAA and Cork Airport management. It is not a matter in which I have a direct role. Also, any decision by an airline on the routes it will serve, or cut, is a matter for that airline. Airlines' decisions will be based on their commercial judgments, taking account of the demand for services.

That said, I am very conscious of the importance of Cork Airport for business and tourism in the Cork region. Since coming into office, I have met the chair and chief executive of the DAA. I visited Cork Airport and met the managing director and some local public representatives to discuss the challenges and opportunities for growth that exist for the airport. I also had the opportunity to meet Cork Chamber of Commerce, and Cork Airport and its future was a prominent topic at the meeting.

As a result, I am well aware of, and concerned at, the continuing decline in passenger numbers at Cork. It was because of this decline that the Cork airport development council was established under an initiative of my predecessor, with the intention of bringing together key local stakeholders to foster a common understanding of issues of concern, identify potential opportunities for growth and to address the operating performance of the airport.

The council is chaired by the chairman of the DAA and comprises senior representatives from the tourism and business sectors in the Cork region, who are actively engaged in achieving the goals set for the council. Furthermore, following the restructuring of the State airports under the State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014, Cork Airport was given a new management structure aimed at putting the airport on a sound footing to manage and develop its business on a competitive, commercially driven basis. In addition, two of the members of the DAA board represent Cork, thereby ensuring that issues pertaining to Cork Airport are considered at the highest level.

The new structure is bedding down and I understand that the airport, the DAA and the CADC are focusing their efforts on identifying new route markets and developing new services. There are opportunities, particularly in the tourism sector, to grow incoming passenger numbers in the Cork region. I am aware that the DAA has developed attractive incentive programmes to encourage the introduction of new routes and services. I also understand from Tourism Ireland that there are opportunities under its co-operative marketing initiative to encourage the introduction of new services and to increase capacity on existing routes. Ultimately, however, creating new services and growing inbound tourism depends on the availability of competitive access and ensuring that potential visitors have a reason to visit. Cork Airport, the DAA and the CADC, along with the regional stakeholders, should be pursuing every opportunity to highlight the tourism product that is available in the catchment area of the airport. I am aware that the objective of the DAA is to halt the decline in passenger numbers in the short term and to return Cork Airport to growth in the future. I am confident that the DAA and Cork Airport management, working with the stakeholders in the region, can achieve this objective.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Any suggestion that the Cork-Heathrow slots could be lost would be devastating for Cork Airport and the region it serves. I recognise that the Minister cannot comment in detail on this issue but the suggestion that IAG is giving a commitment that the Heathrow slots will be used for Irish routes for the next five years in no way addresses the concerns that have been expressed in this regard. In five years' time, Cork could be first to lose those slots.

The national aviation policy makes only limited reference to Cork Airport, in contrast its suggestions for Shannon Airport, which include an international aviation services centre, an aero-industry hub and a centre of excellence for business aviation. This is something that needs to be investigated further. A regional air connectivity marketing fund along the lines of similar projects developed in the UK could be immensely beneficial to Cork. In 2011, the previous Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport commissioned a report from the consultancy firm, Booz and Company, which recommended that Cork remain part of DAA, with getting greater local autonomy on commercial decision making. That recommendation should be revisited. The 19 Deputies from Cork, of whom I am one, should work together more closely to address the issues arising for Cork Airport. I will be suggesting to my colleagues that we establish a friends of Cork Airport Oireachtas group to lobby the Minister and other key stakeholders to ensure the airport's future remains on the agenda and that it is put on a sustainable footing. As its current decline is likely to continue unless something changes, I urge the Minister to look positively at some of my suggestions. By putting the airport on a sustainable footing once again, I hope it will be able to position itself for growth in the coming years.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy acknowledged the constraints I am under in regard to discussing the Heathrow slots for Cork Airport. I am however aware of the strong regional dimensions of national connectivity, as Deputy Dooley outlined very clearly in previous discussions. Access to our country is a vital component in the evaluation of any potential offer. All of our airports make an essential contribution in this regard. There is more at stake than a share price, important though that may be.

In regard to marketing support and further changes to the management structure for Cork Airport, in 2014 alone Tourism Ireland invested €385,000 in co-operative campaigns featuring Cork Airport as a gateway to Ireland. A large proportion of that money focused exclusively on Cork Airport. I recognise that the Cork region has much to offer from a tourism point of view, not to mention the important foreign direct investment and local enterprise located in the region. Cork Airport is strategically located close to the Wild Atlantic Way and is already taking advantage of that. Previous marketing campaigns have made a considerable contribution to supporting demand at the airport.

In regard to further autonomy at the airport, the changes that have recently been made to the management structure are bedding down. These changes including giving the airport representation on the board of the DAA. I am sure these representatives will play an important role in responding to changes. In regard to the role Cork Airport can play in national aviation policy, I am giving careful consideration to this policy in light of recent developments. I intend to investigate what framework we can put in place to ensure all of our airports have a secure future. Obviously, a number of factors are at play which I am not in a position to influence but it is important to me that Cork Airport has a secure and prosperous future. With the people and structures currently in place, I believe it is well positioned to respond to the challenges it faces.