Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am deeply concerned about the deterioration of Cork Airport over the past number of years. During the previous Seanad from 2007 to 2011 the former Senator, Jerry Buttimer, who is now a Deputy, raised this issue on, at least, a monthly basis. The airport has deteriorated rapidly since then. When travelling to Dublin in 2007, 2008 and 2009 I had the option of flying to Dublin Airport with Aer Aran, Aer Lingus or Ryanair. Currently, there are no flights operating out of Cork to the capital city. The number of routes from Cork to Europe have substantially declined and businessmen in Cork, including from the Chamber of Commerce, are deeply concerned about the future of the airport.

I was not in the House yesterday for the debate on the sale of Aer Lingus to IAG. However, the Heathrow slots are of critical importance to the commercial life of Cork city. Often much of the debate on particular issues revolves around the Pale but Cork city and town are also of critical importance. Currently a person wishing to fly from America to Ireland can fly direct from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Dublin. However, if that person wishes to continue on to Cork, west Cork or Kerry there are no connecting flights, leaving him or her having to disembark in Dublin and find alternative means of getting to the south of Ireland. This is a serious issue, one that has been forgotten about in the overall debate. While I accept it will not be possible to have a debate today on the future of Cork Airport, including the attitude of Aer Lingus and Ryanair towards it, I would like the Leader to arrange for such a debate within the next four or five weeks. Despite the fact that some €130 million was spent on the wonderful terminal at Cork Airport it is now like a ghost estate in that there is hardly anybody in it. That is the reality.