Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

This is the result of the failure of the Minister for Transport to take a decision on the issue and to deliver a service for people in the airport, a service that is focused on the customer rather than one that is driven by union politics. There is an obvious disagreement between two unions at the airport, with one union supporting one terminal option and the other supporting an alternative option. However, the big losers in all of this are the consumers.

The Minister must deal with a number of issues concerning the Dublin Airport Authority. We have had the Mullarkey report, which was an assessment of the 13 bids received by the Government when the project was put out to tender in 2002. We have had the Fingal report, from the elected members of Fingal County Council. That report states that the site favoured by the Dublin Airport Authority just north of the existing terminal is not the best option because of lack of capacity. When Dublin Airport Authority was considering what was best for the airport, did it consider all of the options or only those in which it had a controlling interest, namely, lands that it owned? In determining what was best for Dublin Airport the authority only looked at land within its control. The Minister can confirm or deny this. He should comment on this crucial issue in the course of his reply.

Dublin Airport Authority commissioned a report on its own site which has never been published. Will the Minister publish it? He appoints the authority and in effect takes quasi-control and responsibility for the authority through both Houses of the Oireachtas. Will he publish the authority's report on its own site? All of the flaws, to which my colleague Senator Paddy Burke referred, in terms of lack of capacity, failure to plan for the future and the disruption it would cause the current site could be highlighted if we could see the report.

This is an important issue, not only for consumers and investment in the city and throughout the country but also for safety, as rightly stated by Senator Burke. The Minister must answer significant questions. His failure to make a decision on the matter suggests it is being made at a higher level.