I thank the Chair for affording me the opportunity of raising this most important issue. Over the past six months or so Mr. Tony Ryan and his Ryanair team have met with various county councils, town commissioners, chambers of commerce, community-based organisations and, I believe, the Department, endeavouring to elicit their support for his dream of a second airport at Baldonnel.
The proposal to build a second commercial airport in Dublin is ludicrous. It does not stand up to serious economic, environmental or social examination and would be a disaster for the economic life of North Dublin. There is no justification for building a second airport for a city with a population of just over one million people. The aviation needs of Dublin are well catered for by the existing airport. The establishment of a second airport would simply lead to the loss of many jobs in North Dublin and to the transfer of existing jobs from one airport to the other.
Dublin Airport is one of the best managed airports in Europe. It caters for nearly eight million passengers annually and that figure is growing. When its present improvement programme is completed it will be able to cater for 14 million passengers and will have an ultimate capacity of 40 million.
This proposal will also put at risk the possibility of developing Dublin Airport as a whole. Like most international airports Dublin Airport will require a direct public transport system to the city centre by way of extension of the DART or the building of a light rail transport system. To transfer some three million passengers per annum to a second airport would make this proposal uneconomical. It would prove disastrous.
Interest in this issue is not confined to Dublin. The country already has three State airports and six private regional airports competing for internal and international business. Most of the regional airports are struggling to survive and depend, to a large extent, on feeder traffic from Dublin. A second airport would duplicate this traffic and place the future of many of the regional airports at risk. It would also adversely affect jobs in the process.
The Ryanair proposal for Baldonnel referred to an investment from the private sector of £50 million for building a terminal and provision of aircraft parking and taxiway facilities. Who will pay for the necessary investment such as upgrading the runways, air traffic control approach roads, etc? This process would involve duplication of scarce resources and it should not be forgotten that the Northern Cross Route will come on stream next year. Ryanair representatives have spoken of 10,000 jobs being created at Baldonnel. I do not believe the figure is correct, given the numbers currently employed at Dublin Airport.
A major environmental issue is also involved because Baldonnel was never planned as a civilian airport. The immediate effect of turning it into such an airport would be a significant worsening of the environment of the area with adverse consequences for the neighbouring communities of Baldonnel, Clondalkin and Ballyfermot. Aer Rianta, which runs Dublin Airport, is owned by the Minister on behalf of the taxpayers. Over the past seven years Aer Rianta has paid the State over £100 million in dividends. Are we prepared to allow Mr. Tony Ryan, a self-confessed tax exile, to put Dublin Airport at risk? I assure the Minister that the people of Fingal and north Dublin and Fingal County Council are totally opposed to this nonsensical proposal. I am not anti-Ryanair or its staff. I acknowledge the role it played in introducing competition in the aviation industry. However, this proposal must be rejected.
The proposal is just a smokescreen because the real issue is charges. If there is a case to be made for a review or reduction of charges, this should be resolved and Aer Rianta should be allowed get on with the job of developing Dublin Airport and providing jobs for the people of Dublin.
