Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his attendance. Throughout Cork city, the county and the region there is great concern about the situation pertaining to Cork Airport. The recent announcement by Aer Lingus Regional is a further blow to the situation at the airport. There has been a serious decline in the number of flights to and from Cork. Obviously, this will have a negative impact on the tourism industry and the economic and industrial future for the region.

In recent years, Cork Airport's traffic or passenger numbers have fallen by approximately 40%, which is rather dramatic. Last year alone saw a reduction of 6.6% in passengers to the airport. Next year, the airport authority is projecting a 5% decline. Action is required because 2015 will be worse. Aer Lingus and Ryanair have announced the cancellation of routes on top of a reduction of further flights to continental Europe, including the ending of the Cork to Lisbon, Cork to Nice and Cork to Brussels routes.

Passenger numbers are now at 2 million. We cannot blame it exclusively on the downturn and we cannot blame it on the motorway or the associated improvements, as some do - I understand the Minister's suggested this recently. Shannon Airport passenger numbers have gone up 18.7% and those in Dublin have gone up by 6.5%. I believe we can trace this back to the decision in 2012. I am certain Cork Airport is not operating on a level playing pitch.

The reconstitution of Shannon Airport under a separate State company with Shannon Development and the rental revenues that flow from Shannon Development have put Shannon in a strong competitive position. Good luck to Shannon in that regard. Its debt burden has also been written off to the tune of €100 million. Essentially, it is in a position to offer far better prices to airlines than Cork Airport. This is not something I am saying; officials of the Dublin Airport Authority are saying it. In fact, one thing that concerned me when I met DAA officials was that they were reluctant to go public because they were fearful of the political repercussions. The DAA seems to have been rather muted until relatively recently on this issue.

Certain legislation was brought in at the time. The Government abolished the Cork Airport Authority, although the legislation allows for it to be re-established. Essentially, it is part of the DAA structure now. It is clear that Cork Airport lacks a strong independent advocate and is very much subservient to the DAA's diktat.

In the context of the Booz report and the legislation, Cork Airport was never really given any new lease of life by the Government and it is at a severe disadvantage now. The Government directly intervened elsewhere. I have no doubt the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, was influential in terms of the Shannon situation. Shannon Airport can offer deals to Ryanair that Cork Airport cannot. That is fine except it does not add any value to the country. That is the bottom line. Approximately 100,000 passengers were going through Cork and they are now going to Shannon because of the deals that can be offered. That is what DAA officials are saying behind the scenes. They are clear and straightforward about it.

Therefore, the pitch must be levelled somehow in terms of facilitating growth in Cork. There is no way that the airport can prevent the diversion of services as a result of the incentive pricing that is going on. In particular, Ryanair, as a low-cost airline, has diverted a good deal of its traffic to the airport down the road. There is no doubt that substantial discounts, success fees and marketing payments are all factors in that change. I believe it is a race-to-the-bottom model and one the Government should reflect on and change tack in terms of ensuring a feasible long-term future for Cork Airport.

One step I recommend to the Minister is for the Cork Airport board to be re-established. At least that would allow for a strong board that could advocate for Cork Airport, in particular. That would mitigate the sense, which is now very strong in the region, that certain issues are being muted because of the DAA's relationship with the Department and its political masters, that DAA officials are not allowed to raise awkward questions and that they do not want to publicly articulate awkward questions.

A route development fund is essential for Cork Airport, or else a regional support fund for tourism activities in the region. Something has to happen to redress the current imbalance between the three airports. Route development funds have been successful in the past in developing regional airports and increasing connectivity elsewhere, including Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and northern England. The Government should seriously consider ways and means of redressing this otherwise the situation will continue to decline. It is not sustainable in the current framework that operates throughout the three State airports. A route development fund and an independent authority should be considered.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Martin for raising this matter. I am very much aware of the importance of this matter. The interest he has is shared with his constituency colleagues, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, Deputy Jerry Buttimer and Deputy Ciarán Lynch.

Before I comment on the importance of Cork Airport and our plans for it, I emphasise that the market for air services in the European Union is fully liberalised. Any European registered airline is free to operate any service between any two points in the European Union. It is, therefore, a matter for airlines, including Aer Lingus Regional or Stobart Air, to decide what routes they service based on their commercial judgments.

I have no involvement in those decisions. My understanding is that while Stobart will be reducing frequency on some routes, it is also increasing capacity on others or resuming summer services, as all airlines do over the year, depending on seasonality and passenger demand. In particular, the airline will recommence its twice-weekly summer services to Jersey and Rennes from Cork in early June.

The Government is very conscious of the importance of Cork Airport. It is the second largest airport in Ireland and vital for business and tourism in the Cork region. With all this focus on and discussion about declining passenger numbers, let us not forget that it still had more than 2.1 million passengers last year, has 42 scheduled routes and offers passengers excellent connectivity into three major European hub airports. The airport has excellent passenger facilities and provides award-winning customer services.

Notwithstanding all of that, I am also very aware of, and concerned about, the continuing decline in passenger numbers at the airport. Since becoming Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have met with all the stakeholders in regard to Cork Airport on a number of occasions and have engaged extensively with Government bodies in the matter. The DAA and Cork Airport management are working hard to stabilise passenger numbers and restore Cork Airport to growth in the short to medium term. The DAA is actively engaged with existing airline customers, including Stobart, and potential new entrants to help expand traffic at the airport and generate new services. It is crucial that existing and new services are, therefore, supported by the people in Cork and the wider catchment area to ensure their sustainability.

I believe there are also opportunities to increase the number of incoming tourists in the Cork region, particularly in view of the fact that only 37% of Cork Airport's passengers are inbound, which is quite low by international standards. I have engaged with Tourism Ireland, which has undertaken significant co-operative marketing activity with carriers serving Cork Airport to promote flights to Cork and boost travel to the wider regions. East Cork will also be promoted as part of the new tourism proposition for the south and east of Ireland, Ireland's Ancient East. Cork city and airport now have the opportunity to act as a gateway to both Ireland's Ancient East and the Wild Atlantic Way.

Ultimately, creating new services and growing inbound tourism depends not just on the availability of competitive access but also on ensuring that potential visitors have a reason to visit. I urge everybody to work together to develop these products in the Munster region, not just around the airport. The stakeholders, along with the airport and the tourism agencies, will then be better able to pursue every opportunity to develop and highlight those products. It is only by working together that the objective of ensuring a sustainable airport that is able to grow in the future can be achieved for the benefit of the region, the city and the county.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am very disappointed with the Minister's response because it is a holding response and does not deal with the core issue. There are three State airports, and one need only look at the structure to see the issue. Cork Airport is at a competitive disadvantage because of the way the Government has structured the three airports in terms of governance and supports to the respective airports. Essentially, there was a reorganisation of Shannon Airport, with Shannon Development, the rental revenues and all of that, but there is no corresponding structure for Cork Airport or any other supporting mechanism in terms of where it stands within the DAA group. That is a fundamental issue with regard to its capacity to offer competitive rates to airlines.

The other key issue is industry. The region is home to some of the biggest names in global technology, from EMC to Apple, and the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry. The Minister knows that airline connectivity is a very important factor in terms of the capacity to bring in foreign direct investment. There is huge concern about the continuing decline of the airport's passenger numbers. It is a fine airport which is number one in the world in terms of its customer relations - it has received awards in that regard. However, all of this will have an impact on FDI eventually if we do not have that international and global connectivity. That is a big issue of concern for people in the region, particularly those in industry and business.

It is also important in the context of the country's spatial planning. Everyone is talking about the two-tier economic recovery in the sense that everything is happening in the Dublin region and very little outside it. Our second largest airport is now being essentially undermined and downgraded because of the structures that have been put in place, inadvertently or otherwise - I do not know which. The Minister from Cork, Deputy Coveney, must have been asleep at the table or been considerably out-muscled by other Ministers in this regard, but the outcomes are clear in terms of what is happening on the ground. The airline charges offered by Cork Airport are quite competitive across the European landscape, and I have no difficulty with the position of Shannon and Dublin airports, but when we see the other airport going in the opposite direction, surely that raises alarm bells in the Department and with the Minister which call for action. Does the Minister intend to bring in a route development fund?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am struck by Deputy Martin's description of his own local airport as being downgraded. That is an extraordinary statement to make about our second airport, which last year alone carried more than 2 million passengers into and out of our country.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is what the Minister is doing.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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That is the language Deputy Martin used to describe the airport. In his reaction, what he fails to acknowledge in any way is the engagement I have had to support this airport. I have met with both the DAA and local management within Cork Airport on many different occasions. If I looked at the different matters the Deputy has raised, I would point to the fact that Tourism Ireland, as I said in my reply, is working with Cork Airport to land routes and that new routes have recently been landed at the airport. I met with the management of Cork Airport only weeks ago to review with them the efforts they have made to bring in new routes and bring new access to the airport.

I have already acknowledged to the Deputy, as I have to many of his colleagues within the region, that I am concerned about the trend that is evident there. I want to see Cork Airport increase its passenger numbers in the future for reasons of supporting investment in the region and supporting tourism in the area and beyond. I point to the support we have given it in the recent past. We have now launched a new proposition, Ireland's Ancient East, to respond to some of the points that have been made within the Deputy's county regarding the need to better support different tourism assets within the area. A crucial reason for this is the need to find ways to generate more demand within that region, which in turn will support this airport. In terms of specific supports that I and State agencies are providing to the airport, I have engaged directly with the management of Cork Airport and Tourism Ireland is working directly with them to support their efforts to bring in new routes in what I know is a competitive environment. The Deputy himself acknowledged that the rates Cork Airport is offering are competitive versus many of its European peers. In that environment, with the support that Tourism Ireland is giving to the airport-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is not competitive in the Irish market.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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-----I find no evidence whatsoever to back up the Deputy's claim that this airport is being in any way downgraded. What I would encourage him to do-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is the DAA that is saying this. DAA officials are telling me this off the record.

Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent)
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We are way over time.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I have engaged constantly with the airport. Whatever kind of feedback Deputy Martin is getting and whatever kind of commentary-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have had meetings on this.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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It is no doubt disappointing for the Deputy to hear of the engagement I have had in the matter and the progress we are making. It is striking to hear the Deputy talk about his own airport being downgraded. This is a Government that has supported tourism in a way no Fianna Fáil Government ever did, and has got rid of measures such as the airport travel tax, which Deputy Martin's Government brought in. That has now resulted in a huge transformation in the number of visitors into and out of the country, and a huge step change in tourism within our country.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Not in Cork.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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That is our track record. I have been to Cork and met people. Given the support we have had in bringing in new routes, I am hopeful and confident that this will continue in the future.