Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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188. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is prepared to sanction a route development fund for Cork Airport to ensure a sustainable future for that airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8401/15]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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189. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the continuous annual decline of passenger numbers going through Cork Airport; his plans to create a sustainable pathway for future growth at the airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8402/15]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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190. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will reconsider establishing the Cork Airport Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8403/15]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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191. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he is satisfied that the draft national aviation plan outlines a sustainable pathway for growth at Cork Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8404/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 188 to 191, inclusive, together.

daa is the body charged with statutory responsibility to manage, operate and develop Dublin and Cork Airports.  daa operates under a clear commercial mandate, is entirely funded from its own resources and receives no Government funding supports.  As such, responsibility for addressing the decline in passenger numbers going through Cork Airport and any plans to create a sustainable pathway for future growth at the airport are matters for daa and Cork Airport management.  They are not matters in which I have a direct role.

That said, I am well aware and concerned at the continuing decline in passenger numbers at Cork. It was because of this decline that the Cork Airport Development Council (CADC) was established under an initiative of my predecessor, with the intention of bringing key local stakeholders together to foster a common understanding of issues of concern, identify potential opportunities for growth and to address the operating performance of the airport. The Council is chaired by the Chairman of daa, and comprises senior representatives from the tourism and business sectors in the Cork region who are actively engaged in achieving the goals set for the Council.

I believe that there are opportunities, particularly in the tourism sector, to grow incoming passenger numbers in the Cork region.  I am aware that daa has attractive incentive programmes available that encourage the introduction of new routes and services at their airports.  I also understand that Tourism Ireland has undertaken significant cooperative marketing activity with carriers serving Cork Airport to promote flights to Cork and boost travel to the wider regions.  The agency will continue to monitor developments at Cork Airport and work with the Airport and relevant stakeholders to maximise the numbers using existing services and to help to make the case of additional new services with potential tourism benefits for the Cork region.  In this connection, it should be noted that all of my Department's allocation for tourism is provided for the use of the tourism agencies, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, and I do not have discretionary funding available for individual marketing initiatives.

Ultimately, creating new services and growing inbound tourism depends not just on the availability of competitive access but also on ensuring that potential visitors have a reason to visit.  I would urge all the regional stakeholders to work with Cork Airport, daa and the CADC to pursue every opportunity to develop and highlight the tourism product that is available in the catchment area of the airport.

It is intended that the National Aviation Policy (NAP), which is currently being finalised, will restate Government Policy in relation to Cork while recognising Cork Airport’s role as a key tourism and business gateway for that region, the strategic role of the airport in serving Ireland’s second city and its hinterland, as well as the potential for the airport to avail of opportunities for growth such as Tourism Ireland’s co-operative marketing investment initiative.  The NAP will make clear, however, that it is a matter for the airport and daa to stabilise and grow traffic and that it remains Government policy that Exchequer funding is not provided to the State airports.

As a result of the decision by Government that Cork Airport would remain part of the daa Group, provision was included in the State Airports (Shannon Group) Act 2014 for the dissolution of the Cork Airport Authority (CAA) and that process is currently underway.  While the Act also provides for the re-establishment of CAA if separation is decided on by Government at a future date, there are no plans to revisit that policy at this time.  It should be noted, however, that daa has since put in place arrangements for Cork Airport to be run as a stand alone business unit within the Group, properly resourced at management level locally.  This leads to faster day to day decision making, with daa Group assisting and providing support where required.