Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

As Senator Buttimer will be aware, Joe Gantly recently stepped down from his position as the chairman of Cork Airport. He held the position since 2004 and I would like to record in this House my appreciation for the work he did in that post and to wish him well in the future.

Under the stewardship of Joe Gantly, Cork Airport greatly expanded its passenger base. Last year was the 15th consecutive year for aviation growth at Cork Airport and between 2003 and 2007 passenger numbers increased from 2.2 million to 3.2 million. That makes a lie of some of the accusations the Senator made. It is obvious that Cork Airport has been a vibrant airport and has done great work to boost tourism in the area.

Such growth and expansion requires a dynamic and experienced chairman. I can assure the House that the person to be appointed will bring these qualities to the job, and the position is to be filled very shortly. Under the State Airports Act 2004 the boards of Cork and Shannon airports are required to prepare business plans for eventual separation.

All three airport business plans have to be co-ordinated by the Dublin Airport Authority for eventual approval by the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Finance. Among the requirements to be satisfied in advance of separation is the need to ensure the financial sustainability of the three State airports. It has always been the Government's position that the resolution of the debt issue at Cork Airport would have to ensure that the debt burden to be undertaken by Cork would be manageable and that it would form a reasonable basis for Cork Airport's autonomy, without in any way putting at risk its commercial future.

However, it is also the Government's position that the sharing of the Cork debt — much of which was incurred in financing the new terminal and other infrastructural works at Cork Airport — between the Cork and Dublin airport authorities will have to take account not only of what is commercially and financially feasible for Cork Airport, but also what is commercially and financially feasible for the Dublin Airport Authority. Most of that debt was spent in putting the infrastructure into Cork.

In order to break the logjam between the DAA and the Cork Airport Authority on the equity of the debt, Mr Peter Cassells was appointed earlier this year to mediate between the two parties with a view to reaching agreement on a level of debt that was acceptable to both sides. Mr. Cassells's conclusions and recommendations were the outcome of that dialogue with both parties. The recommendation is that the CAA takes responsibility for debt of €113 million in return for the transfer of net assets of €220 million on separation. The board of the CAA has accepted this recommendation.

I have already received the Cork and Shannon business plans and I expect shortly to receive a finalised commentary on those plans by the DAA when it submits its business plan. I would expect the DAA's commentary to address recent trends in the aviation market, the challenges facing the State airports and the financial and operational aspects of restructuring.

As to the question of publication of business plans, I do not foresee publication because the content is commercially sensitive. In any case, I will need to consider the DAA's commentary and the implications of the individual business plans for the future operation of our State airports before deciding on the best way forward.