Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Firstly, I would like to apologise to the Deputy for an error made during Leaders Questions on 31 January. I incorrectly advised that the detail from Waterford Airport in relation to its runway development proposal had not been submitted to my Department. However, as previously acknowledged to you on 11 January, this detail was received by my Department in soft copy on 13 December. Hard copies were also received by my office on 10 January.

As the Deputy is aware, in June 2019, the Government at that time gave an approval in principle of an expression of support for an expansion proposal at Waterford Airport and to providing Exchequer funding of €5 million towards a runway extension project. Government support was not only contingent on local authority and private investment necessary to complete the project being committed and any risks relating to cost escalation being borne by the non-State investors, but also on full details of the project being provided to my Department for appraisal.

As outlined, this detail remained outstanding from Waterford Airport until 13 December 2023. Furthermore, I understand that the detail provided shows that the project costs have increased substantially above the original estimated cost of €12 million, deviating significantly from the original Government Decision in 2019.

I wish to assure the Deputy that my officials are currently appraising the material received from Waterford Airport in accordance with the requirements under the Public Spending Code/Infrastructure Guidelines. I am not in a position to give a commitment on a timeframe for completion of this assessment. I anticipate extensive engagement between my officials and Waterford Airport over the coming weeks.

I will consider my Department's assessment of this proposal when this engagement is complete.