asked the Minister for Communications if he intends to follow the recommendations contained in a report dated April 1981, prepared by representatives of Aer Lingus, Aer Rianta and the Department of Transport and Power, concerning the need for a new runway at Dublin Airport of approximately 9,000 feet in length.
Written Answers. - Dublin Airport New Runway.
604.
Bearing in mind the age of the Dublin Airport runway system, which dates from the mid-forties, the developments in size and weight of aircraft in recent years and the need to provide for long term traffic needs at the airport, a detailed examination of the airport's future runway requirements was carried out in the late seventies by a working group. The group recommended that a new east/west 9,000 feet runway should be built. Aer Rianta endorse the working group's report and the company have advised me that the operational life of the existing main runway cannot be guaranteed beyond 1988.
In the light of these considerations I will shortly be seeking formal Government approval for the level of investment necessary for a new runway at Dublin Airport. I am not, therefore, yet in a position to indicate the length of the proposed runway or the nature of the instrument landing system to be provided. I should make it clear that while details of the funding arrangements for the project have not yet been finalised it is expected that the project will be funded primarily from non-Exchequer sources, i.e. borrowing by Aer Rianta and the company's own resources. Completion and operation of a new runway at Dublin Airport will not hinder or adversely affect operations at Shannon Airport. I can assure the Deputy that there will be no change in Government policy under which Shannon is Ireland's only designated transatlantic gateway for traffic to and from Ireland.