Vol. 487 No. 3
122 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the criteria, if any, employed in matching funds for Knock International Airport which is currently 50 per cent when it is understood that Galway is given 75 per cent. [4013/98]
A grant of £924,000 was allocated to Knock Airport in respect of a £1.848 million project to upgrade the runway lighting on the basis that the company would provide matching funds.
However, in the interim, I have become aware that the requirement with respect to matching funds may in some cases be more onerous for airport companies than had originally been envisaged. Consequently, I have recently written to the Knock Airport company and have suggested that, in the event of any difficulties in raising the matching funds to complete the project as originally proposed, the company may opt to revise the scale of the works involved so that only a 25 per cent contribution from the company would be required. It would, of course, be necessary for the company to formulate a coherent project if it were proposed to proceed with a revised level of expenditure. I have written in similar terms to the other airport companies concerned.
