Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 144: To ask the Minister for Transport the degree to which the operational costs at each airport here compare with similar airports throughout the rest of Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26990/10]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has statutory responsibility to manage, operate and develop the three state airports, operational costs at these airports are a matter for the DAA and I have no function in the matter. As the six regional airports are owned and operated independently, operational costs at these airports are similarly a matter for each airport.

In relation to comparative charges at other Airports in Europe, I have been informed by the DAA that a number of benchmarking studies have been conducted or referenced by the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) concerning operating costs at Dublin Airport. The most recent report, conducted by Indecon-Jacobs during the 2009 regulatory determination process, which is available on the CAR website at www.aviation.reg.ie, demonstrated that operating costs per passenger at Dublin Airport were the second lowest of the sample of comparator airports in Europe in 2008.