Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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624. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the amount and nature of the debt ascribed to Cork Airport by the Dublin Airport Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18150/15]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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​As the Deputy will be aware, daa has statutory responsibility to operate, manage and develop both Dublin and Cork Airports and as such the debt level of Cork Airport is a matter for daa. 

However, I understand that daa's balance sheet includes debt of around €220m assigned to Cork Airport relating to the cost of building a terminal and significant associated infrastrucure which was completed in 2006, with the daa servicing that debt.  

Of course, the fundamental issue is not whether Cork has this debt or not.  The real issue is about building sustainable traffic that supports the operating cost base for the Airport. 

The Government is acutely aware of the importance of Cork Airport for business and tourism in the Cork region. The airport, which is the second larget airport in the State, had more than 2.1m passengers last year with 42 scheduled routes and excellent connectivity into the major European hub airports.  

The daa  and Cork Airport management are working hard to stabilise passenger numbers and restore Cork Airport to growth in the short to medium term. Moreover, I believe there are also opportunities to increase the number of incoming tourists in the Cork region and  I have engaged with Tourism Ireland, which has undertaken significant co-operative marketing activity with carriers serving Cork Airport to promote flights to Cork and boost travel to the wider regions.

These marketing activities have to be underpinned by a cohesive product brand for the Cork region, providing a clear selling point for Cork as a destination in itself and as a gateway to other attractive destinations in Ireland.  I am pleased that a Task Force comprising the two local authorities, the Chamber and the Tourism agencies along with daa and the Irish Touri Operators Association, is now working on delivering just such a destination brand for Cork, as well as a strategy and implementation plan for maximising inbound tourism growth opportunities.   I look forward to seeing the Group's first planned output – a destination brand for Cork – at the end of May.

I urge everybody in the Munster region, not just around the airport, to work together to develop this product.  In this context, focusing on the debt level of the Airport, which is part of the daa Group debt, is unhelpful.