Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Waterford Airport has been without any commercial flights since mid-2016. I know the Minister is very familiar with this matter. The lack of international and national connections is a huge challenge. Extending the runway is crucial for the viability of Waterford Airport in the long term and in the context of any commercial future for the airport. Right now, Waterford's runway is only capable of handling smaller, turboprop aircraft, which are diminishing in numbers and struggling to retain their place in a highly competitive marketplace. The airport's board says a longer, wider runway would allow the hub to cater for more commonly used aircraft such as the Boeing 737, favoured by Ryanair, and the Airbus A320, the most common plane in the Aer Lingus fleet. The future of Waterford Airport has been hanging in the balance since June 2016, when the Belgian parent of the VLM airline went bankrupt, bringing an abrupt end to its only scheduled services to London Luton Airport. Waterford Airport currently hosts an Irish Coast Guard helicopter and is available for use by private jets.

The development of the runway extension at Waterford Airport is key to the region so that viable routes can be explored. I accept that the aviation industry is extremely tough and the airport has seen its fair share of setbacks in recent years. However, the delivery of funding to pay for the extension of the runway to allow larger aircraft use the airport, offering longer distance services to mainland Europe, would ensure the future of the airport and secure the many local jobs that are dependent on it being fully operational.

The North Quays in Waterford is the site of a proposed €350 million regeneration project which can only be described as a game-changer for Waterford. The south east needs a regional city of consequence and that city must be Waterford. A viable working airport is crucial to strengthen the city and the region. Waterford could act as a release valve for the overcrowding in Dublin, and it could act as a counterbalance to the capital in the context of issues such as overheating, rehousing, transport congestion and education.

I acknowledge that on foot of requests made by the airport and the Minister's colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, and to ensure there was no disruption to the coast guard's search and rescue service, the Minister sanctioned the provision of €750,000 in grant funding to the airport last year. Two payments of €375,000 were made to the airport in January and December. These were exceptional payments and were provided to allow time for appropriate consideration of the issues arising at Waterford Airport. I submitted a parliamentary question on the matter last October and welcomed the reply that the Minister had brought to Cabinet an independent report on the extension of Waterford Airport runway. This was a very positive move. I am also pleased that submissions from Waterford Airport, Waterford City and County Council and local private investors were included in the review by Ernst & Young, EY, commissioned by the Minister. A planning application has been made for an extension to the runway. The current length of 1,400 m would be extended to 2,200 m and the width would be increased from 30 m to 45 m. This runway extension is vital to secure the future of Waterford Airport.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I appreciate its importance to the south east, and to all the public representatives and people there. I appreciate the energy Waterford Airport could inject into that region if it was a working and successful project.

Before I update the House, I think it might be useful to provide some background information on the issue. Many Deputies here today will be familiar with Waterford Airport, which has been operating in the south east of the country since the mid-1980s. While passenger numbers reached a peak of more than 140,000 in 2008, there was a steady decline in numbers thereafter with fewer than 35,000 travelling through the airport in 2015. In fact, since June 2016, as the Deputy stated, no scheduled air services have operated at Waterford Airport. In terms of Exchequer support, no capital funding grants have been provided to the airport since that time and grant aid towards operational funding ceased from 2017. This is because the schemes operated under the regional airports programme relate to the provision of scheduled air services. Unfortunately, despite best efforts and numerous attempts, the airport has not been able to secure new scheduled air services since the last operator ceased services in 2016.

This has, as one would expect, given rise to financial challenges at the airport. On foot of these challenges, the airport submitted requests to my Department for a minimal level of subvention, which would allow the airport to continue its operations in 2018 as it considered its future. After informing the Government of the situation, I made a decision to provide €375,000 to the airport in January 2018. I provided a further payment of €375,000 in December. That is the €750,000 to which the Deputy refers. These payments were justified. They were an exceptional measure and were made to ensure that there would be no disruption to the search and rescue service that operates from there. They were also provided to allow time for a full and extensive consideration of future options for Waterford Airport.

In respect of that consideration and the detailed analysis that would be required, the Department procured the services of EY, the independent consultants, in early 2018. During the course of this analysis, Waterford Airport submitted a proposal to my Department for Exchequer support in respect of a project to expand the runway at the airport to accommodate large commercial passenger jets. The airport is also intending to raise money from three local authorities - Waterford, Kilkenny and Wexford - and from private investors. EYwas asked to assess this proposal as part of its review.

The airport contends that the failure to maintain passenger services is embedded in the limitations of its runway, particularly in terms of length, which cannot handle larger jet aircraft. Following completion of the EY review, my Department sought additional information from the airport in respect of private investor commitment, interest from jet carriers and the future ownership and shareholding position of the airport company. Then, in October last, I brought the matter to Government for the purposes of updating my Cabinet colleagues and also to inform them of my intention to provide a copy of the EY report to the board of Waterford Airport. The airport was invited to respond to EY's findings and to provide any additional information that might strengthen its position in respect of the runway proposal. That response, received from the airport last week, is being reviewed by my Department and will be assessed against national aviation and transport policy objectives, as well as broader Government policies such as Project Ireland 2040 and the national planning framework. Once I have fully considered the matter, it is my intention to revert to Government for a decision in the coming weeks.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. Funding will be required from the State, local government and private investors. However, I believe a positive response from the Government and from the Minister will spur on other interested parties and ensure that the developments needed are delivered. It is imperative that support from the Government for the extension is delivered. If the Government could commit to the €5 million requested, there would be matched funding from private investors of €5 million and matched funding of a further €3 million from the local authorities in Waterford, Kilkenny and Wexford. I welcome the Minister of State's comments to the effect that he received a response from the airport last week which is being reviewed by his Department and which will be assessed against national aviation and transport policy objectives, as well as broader Government policies. I hope we will have a timely reply on that.

I reiterate some of the comments I made earlier.

The development of this runway is absolutely essential. Waterford city is on the crest of a wave currently. There are huge opportunities in Waterford to make it the capital city of the south east. There is no doubt that if the airport could access this runway we would end up with a range of additional businesses and opportunities. I believe the airport would reduce its dependency on Government support in the long run, and its potential to attract additional investment and employment opportunities to the area would be enhanced.

I hope to welcome the Minister's decision on the airport at Waterford as soon as possible.

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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It is everybody's wish for Waterford airport to be a functioning, commercial and viable airport. That is our objective. We have to take many things into account when making a decision on this, including the long-term outlook, not just the short-term. We have to look at the Government's regional policy and decide on that basis whether investment is worthwhile or not. We also have to take into account the somewhat unique situation where there are private investors in county councils who volunteer to produce money to put into an airport of that size and who take risks with their investments. We must also consider that county councils have great faith in the benefits this would bring to the region. However, we cannot take imprudent decisions which will not, in the considered view of independent reviewers, ourselves and of experts, offer benefits to the region. We do not want to create a white elephant.

We have pondered this issue for a long time and have shown good faith in the project by providing €375,000 on two occasions. We do not want to close the airport and will give it every chance to succeed. However, we will take a decision on a very sensible and prudent basis in the coming weeks.