Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----I know full well the needs of my community and area, as well as of the clubs and organisations in my city. I challenge Members to outline the criteria and weightings included in the application form. I ask the Minister to review the criteria because we have a flawed system for the way funding is allocated under the programme. In saying that I am not casting aspersions on the Minister or the Minister of State, Deputy Griffin. I welcome the allocations made last week, on which I congratulate the Minister and the Minister of State, but we should examine the criteria and weightings outlined. Increasing participation in sport has been given a weighting of three. Level of disadvantage has been given a weighting of seven based on the Pobal index, but what happens where a club is not included in a Pobal area? What happens where clubs have received funding previously? The sharing of facilities has been given a weighting of five and technical merits, a weighting of three, which is wrong. It should be about more than that because the Minister is offering the grant based on the merits of the application made. Level of funding has been given a weighting of one, with a minimum figure of 20% being set for the club.

I welcome the investment made by the Minister's Department in infrastructure in the city and county of Cork, in particular. I want to speak about the Cork transport strategy which was published last May. It is an ambitious plan for the city and county of Cork, in particular the metropolitan area of Cork city. It is about accessibility, integrating public transport services, walking and cycling infrastructure. I ask the Minister to take note of the proposed Lee to sea greenway project which should receive attention in the Department in working with the county council and the city council on how a new greenway route can be promoted. The Minister has been very supportive of the greenway programme. This is a route which winds its way around the city of Cork towards the harbour, building on the success of other greenways. It takes someone from Inniscarra Dam to Crosshaven, through Ballincollig, the city docklands, past Monkstown and so on.

I have always found the Minister to be very fair. The National Transport Authority, NTA, should have a regional office in Cork to drive the Cork metropolitan area strategy. If we are serious about providing public transport, investing in cycling infrastructure and the regions beyond the M50, the NTA's decision not to locate a regional office in Cork as the lead agency for the Cork metropolitan area strategy is wrong. I ask the Minister to communicate this to the NTA, with a view to looking at how its decision can be changed. It is worth examining the issue.

There is a major difficulty in the aviation sector in the country that we have to address. I am not being critical of the Minister but of the decision made by the Commission for Aviation Regulation in the determination of charges at Dublin Airport in the period 2020 to 2024. A price of €7.87 has been set for the period, a figure which is 18% below Dublin Airport's flat price figure of €9.65 discussed with the airlines 12 months ago. I ask Members to note the words of the chief executive, Dalton Philips, who stated: "Dublin Airport's prices are already 30 to 40% lower than its European peers and the Regulator's decision will mean Dublin's prices will now be almost 60% lower than the EU market price." As the Minister is aware, the issue is about connectivity, on which, as an island nation, we are dependent. It is also about the impact this decision will have on Cork, Shannon and other regional airports as the price set in Dublin is deemed to be the reference point for other airports throughout the country. It will have a knock-on effect. As the Minister knows, the use of infrastructure in the aviation industry is heavily dependent on what happens at Dublin Airport. That cannot be good for all of us, which is why it is important that Aer Lingus, in particular, consider locating a hub in Cork. I accept that it has undertaken a range of actions since the change in terms, but for us in Cork and, inadvertently, those involved in Shannon, it is about ensuring there is connectivity and that Cork Airport which is owned by the DAA will have its own capital expenditure programme. Will that happen if the commission's decision stands?

I thank the Minister for coming into the House and his work. I ask that we examine the issue of funding for Cork Airport in the context of the NTA. I refer, in particular, to Lehenaghmore, Matthew Hill, where Cork City Council is advertising a scheme under Part 8 for footpath and road realignment and the provision of public lighting. It is a very important issue in the area where there are no footpaths along roads. Permission was given for the construction of hundreds of houses without making provision for the inclusion of footpaths and public lighting. I hope the Minister will communicate with the NTA on the importance of the scheme.