Written answers

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

Department of Transport

Regional Airports

11:00 am

Photo of John O'DonoghueJohn O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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Question 158: To ask the Minister for Transport if, following on from the announcement in the national recovery plan that the public service obligation payment to regional airports is to cease in summer 2011, he will consider bringing forward the renewed PSO contract negotiations for Kerry Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46210/10]

Photo of Noel DempseyNoel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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The current Public Service Obligation (PSO) contracts for services linking Dublin Airport with the regional airports at Derry, Donegal, Sligo, Ireland West Airport Knock, Galway and Kerry Airports commenced on 22 July 2008 and are due to expire on 21 July 2011. With regard to the PSO programme in general, the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes (An Bórd Snip) recommended that the Public Service Obligations for air services should be discontinued after the ending of the present contracts. In addition, under updated EU legislation governing these services, more stringent conditions will apply to future PSO arrangements, having regard for example, to the availability of other transport connections and especially rail services with a travelling time of three hours or less.

As the Deputy is aware, the National Recovery Plan identifies savings of €5.5 million in relation to the curtailment of support for regional air services from mid 2011.

The Deputy will also be aware of the Value for Money (VFM) Review of Exchequer Expenditure on the regional airports programme which was recently completed. The review was carried out to assist me in evaluating the appropriate scale of a regional airports programme in future years bearing in mind aviation policy objectives, the updated EU legislation, the improved surface links under the NDP and Transport 21 and the need to address the difficulties with our public finances.

The Review is being considered by Government and it is intended that it will be published shortly.

It would be inappropriate for me to comment on any likely PSO scheme beyond 2011, including the Kerry PSO service, in advance of the Government decision in the matter.

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