Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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1394. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the details of all full- and part-time staff employed at the Met Éireann facility in Shannon Airport in December 2019 and June 2025; the details of investments made in the Shannon operation since December 2019; and his plans for future investments. [40733/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Details of staffing numbers of Met Éireann staff based in Shannon Airport in the years in question are set out in the table below.

During the specified period Met Éireann invested in upgrading its aeronautical weather observations system at 5 airports at which it provides an aviation weather observation service – including Shannon Airport. The purpose of the upgrade was to replace aging systems and to ensure compliance with ICAO standards and EU Regulations governing the provision of meteorological information to the aviation sector. The new systems implemented at Shannon provide the capability to deliver higher resolution and more representative weather information in support of airport operations, Air Traffic Control, commercial airline operators and State aviation. These systems will become fully operational in Quarter 4 of 2025. The costs of the projects that were relevant to the Shannon Airport upgrades over the period December 2019 to June 2025 amount to €324,000.

The Shannon radar replacement and upgrade was completed in Q3 2023 when a new state of the art dual-polarisation weather radar was successfully installed and commission in Shannon Airport. The expenditure on Shannon radar so far is €2,129,390.

Future investments up to €75,000 is expected this year, for built-in shelving and a new hatch door up to the Radome.