Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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171. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the position regarding the reinstatement of flights between Kerry and Dublin and Donegal and Dublin in the near future; the position in relation to the next PSO process for 2022 and beyond; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37064/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy is aware, prior to its voluntary liquidation, Stobart Air held the contract for operating PSO air services on two routes between Dublin and the airports of Kerry and Donegal. Stobart Air advised of its liquidation on 12 June and all services on the PSO routes were cancelled with immediate effect.

As the Deputy will know, regional connectivity is of critical importance to Government, and work to restore air services on these vital regional routes was commenced by my Department as a matter of priority following the Stobart announcement.

In order to facilitate urgent restoration of services on the two routes, a Request for Quote (RfQ) to operate the service was issued by my Department on 21 June, and the final deadline for receipt of submissions was 30 June. In accordance with EU law, any new replacement contract in these circumstances is subject to a maximum term of 7 months. Until successful bidders are announced, I am not in a position to comment on details pertaining to this procurement process.

However, I do expect this process to be concluded shortly with a view to services re-commencing on these routes this month.

To mitigate against any further disruption to these services, my Department will also launch, in the coming weeks, a procurement process for the continued provision of the services after the temporary arrangements have expired in February 2022. This procurement process may provide for contracts of up to 4 years, in line with EU law, to ensure the continuation of services to Donegal and Kerry Airport as they recover from the impacts of Covid.