Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Dublin Airport is faced with a lot of challenges and I ask that the Deputy Leader extends an invitation to attend this House to the Minister for Transport or the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, who has responsibility for aviation. To be fair to the DAA and all of the staff in Dublin Airport, they are victims of their own success. The bounce back has been incredibly quick and large so there are challenges, which are clearly visible in terms of queueing, parking, etc.

Senator Buttimer and I are members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications. Last night, the committee held a public meeting at which both Senator Buttimer and I were in attendance. The committee was told that the earliest there will be a metro to Dublin Airport will be somewhere between the window of 2030 to 2034. Therefore, we will continue to have problems with parking and accessibility in general until that time.

An Bord Pleanála has ruled that Dublin Airport cannot go beyond 32 million passengers. That figure was breached in 2019 and it is likely the figure will be breached this year but if not this year then next year. I would like the Deputy Leader to arrange a discussion, and ideally with the Minister for Transport. Let us remember that every single Minister for Transport since Noel Dempsey has been Dublin-based, including Deputies Leo Varadkar and Paschal Donohoe, and Shane Ross.

For the sake of all passengers, Dublin Airport needs attention and focus in terms of its security and management. I welcome the fact that members of the Defence Forces are going to be available but they should not be taken for granted. The public has huge faith in the involvement of the Defence Forces and their availability, which I would like to see happen. I would also like us to discuss the future of Dublin Airport in terms of its next phase. If Dublin Airport has already hit a limit of 32 million passengers then we need to think about where we go next because aviation is part of what we, as an island nation, do very well. For example, Irish people lead some of the largest aviation organisations in the world such as British Airways and Qantas Airways Limited, and Mr. Willie Walsh is director general of the International Air Transport Association, IATA. We must have a debate on the future of Dublin Airport, its future capacity and expansion, whether we need a third terminal, etc.

The DAA has proposed that passenger charges be increased by 80% and the Commission for Aviation Regulation is due to deliver its deliberation by the end of June, which is tomorrow. I think that asking passengers to pay 80% more to Dublin Airport at a time when it is clearly not delivering is something that the public is not ready for and, therefore, we need an urgent debate.