Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 261: To ask the Minister for Transport if he is supporting the new European Commission communication adopted on 30 April 2008 that will allow the potential trading of airport slots; the impact this development will have on the allocation of slots for Irish airports and for routes between Irish airports and foreign destinations; his views on measures that will safeguard Irish airport slots and protect strategic Irish air connectivity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18235/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The European Commission Communication that the Deputy refers to sets out the European Commission's views on how the Community rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports which are set down in Regulation (EEC) No. 95/93, as amended, should be interpreted based on experience with the application of the Regulation to date.

The aim of Regulation (EEC) No. 95/93 is to ensure that where airport capacity is scarce, available landing and take-off slots are used efficiently and distributed in an equitable, non-discriminatory and transparent way.

Under the rules set down in Regulation (EEC) No. 95/93, airports in the community are designated as either 'co-ordinated' or 'schedules facilitated' by Member States. Generally, congested airports will be designated as 'co-ordinated' which means that a carrier cannot operate a landing or a take-off at such an airport without being allocated a slot. A more flexible regime can be operated at 'schedules facilitated' airports where capacity is not so constrained.

The key point is that slots are allocated to carriers and carriers are free to decide what routes to operate using the slots which have been allocated to them in accordance with the Regulation except in the specific case where slots are assigned for the purpose of operating a route which is the subject of public service obligation.

The application of Regulation (EEC) No. 95/93 in Ireland is concerned only with the allocation of slots to carriers at Irish airports and Dublin airport is the only airport in the State that has been designated as a 'co-ordinated' airport by the Commission for Aviation Regulation which is the competent authority for the Regulation in Ireland. The slot allocation process at airports in other Member States is entirely a matter for the authorities of each individual Member State.

One of the most substantive clarifications in the European Commission's Communication is that secondary trading of slots between air carriers is acceptable under the Regulation. This clarification is based on an acknowledgement that secondary trading in slots has been taking place at a number of congested airports in the Community and the Commission has stated that if it becomes apparent that, for competition or other reasons, revision of the existing legislation is required, they will make an appropriate proposal.

When Aer Lingus was publicly floated, specific measures were introduced into the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company to make provision for shareholders to have a role in any proposed disposal of slots at Heathrow airport. In effect these provisions provide for the possibility that a sale of Heathrow slots can be blocked. The operation of these provisions is not changed as a result of the Commission's communication.