Vol. 458 No. 6
14 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications if he will report on the operation of the essential air services programme outlining the regional air services which are being subvented, the amounts being paid and whether access to Western regional airports from the United Kingdom and the Continent will be included in the scheme. [17425/95]
27 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications if he will make a statement on the future viability of regional airports; and the policy initiatives, if any, he proposes taking to stimulate traffic at regional airports, particularly those along the west coast. [17421/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 27 together.
There are six regional airports handling scheduled commercial traffic. Passenger traffic at these airports fell by 51 per cent between 1990 and 1993. Traffic recovered somewhat in 1994 and that upward trend has continued into 1995. However, despite this increase in traffic, a number of regional airport companies are experiencing serious financial difficulties.
In order to alleviate these difficulties, my Department made arrangements for the introduction of an Essential Air Services Programme between four of these airports and Dublin Airport in accordance with EU Regulations. The purpose of the programme is to guarantee a minimum level of air services to the regions served by these airports. The provision in my Department's Vote for this purpose in 1995 is £1.5 million.
Four regional airports are included in the programme — Kerry, Galway, Sligo and Donegal. To date, operating contracts have been awarded to Aer Lingus for the Dublin/Kerry/Dublin and Dublin/Galway/Dublin routes. No contract was awarded for the Sligo and Donegal routes as the tenders submitted presented serious difficulties. I am arranging for a further call for tenders for these routes to be inserted in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
The programme is confined to domestic routes within Ireland. International air services should be able to operate on a fully commercial basis.
