Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 133: To ask the Minister for Transport when he will announce his funding allocations to regional airports; the level of State funding he regards as sufficient to develop our regional airports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41759/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Transport 21 includes a provision of 100 million Euro in exchequer grants for capital works, including both safety/security projects and developmental projects, at the six regional airports over ten years to 2015.

The capital expenditure grant scheme for the regional airports which my Department launched earlier this year involves a planning and implementation framework extending to 2010 and a budget of 65 million Euro out of this total of 100 million Euro. The grant applications from all six regional airports are being assessed and prioritised by my Department with the assistance of expert advice and I expect to be in a position to announce each airport's allocation under the scheme in the near future.

It is also my intention to announce the 2006 allocation for each regional airport under a new scheme which provides for subvention of operational expenditure incurred by these airports in the provision of core airport services. I believe that in combination, the new schemes will help to focus on the public service obligation role of the regional airports and boost their contribution to balanced regional development.