David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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182. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has received a business case in line with the public spending code from Waterford Airport regarding funding a runway extension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38459/25]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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183. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if funding will be provided to Waterford Airport to deliver the runway extension in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38460/25]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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184. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the meetings he has participated in regarding a request to fund a runway extension at Waterford Airport; the dates of meeting; the titles of those present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38461/25]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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185. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the updated costs of funding the runway extension at Waterford Airport; the amount requested from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38462/25]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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186. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if there are caveats attached to the Programme for Government commitment to fund Waterford Airport runway extension; if so, the caveats are; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38463/25]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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187. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to outline in chronological order all information sought and received from Waterford Airport regarding funding the runway extension, broken down by the dates the information was sought, when the information was received and any outstanding requests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38464/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 182, 183, 184, 185, 186 and 187 together.

I would like to reassure the Deputy that in line with the Programme for Government, this Government commits to working with all stakeholders to quickly progress Waterford Airport’s project to lengthen and widen the runway, building on the previous Government decision of 2019.  There are no caveats associated with this commitment.

In line with that commitment, I can confirm that I, along with Government colleagues Minister Mary Butler and Minister John Cummins, met with the CEO of Waterford City and County Council and Director of the Board of Waterford Airport and the Director of Services at Waterford City and County Council on 2 July.  Next steps for progressing the project were discussed. 

Any potential Government support will be considered when this engagement and project appraisal is complete.

As advised to the Deputy previously, my Department has concluded its initial assessment of Waterford Airport’s development proposal in line with the Project Outline Document requirements under the Department’s Transport Appraisal Framework. This Framework ensures investment schemes in the transport sector comply with Government’s Infrastructure Guidelines (previously known as the Public Spending Code), which set out the value for money guidelines for the evaluation, planning and management of public investment projects. The Project Outline Document is an important step in the project lifecycle in that it has allowed Waterford Airport (as the Sponsoring Agency) to outline its intentions for the project and to receive feedback that will inform the development of a Preliminary Business Case under the Infrastructure Guidelines.

The Project Outline Document outlined that the project costings have increased substantially above the original estimated cost of €12 million to €27 million, deviating significantly from the original 2018 proposal.  The Exchequer contribution sought by the airport has also risen from €5 million to €12 million.

I understand that my Department prioritised the necessary assessment of the proposal.  In doing so a number of clarification requests and questions seeking further detail were raised by my Department.  This is to be expected with an appraisal process of this nature.  As requested by the Deputy, a summary of notable engagement at that time is detailed in the following table.