Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment.

Senator Barrett expressed the concept well. I am a believer in independence in such matters. I have had the chance in the past year to visit Ireland West Airport Knock to see the enthusiasm for what can happen there and what they can do. I note they are raising a charge on flights where everybody departing has to pay €10 or €20, but it seems to be working. I do not know whether they are making money yet, but there are so many other aspects to this. One of the actions we took when we were working on that was to go to the John Lennon Airport in Liverpool to see what it has done and how it changed when, having been part of a bigger structure, it got independence. Recently I visited Southend Airport in the south of England to see the efforts it is putting in on that basis as well.

If one has the commitment of the local area to independence, I believe much can be done. It would be a shame to end up involving Cork Airport with a much larger institution where it will always be a second-class citizen. It is much better if one can give the airport its independence and set up a team there that will make that work.