I wish to share my time with Deputy Owen.
Adjournment Debate. - Airport Development Projects.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Over the years I have been to the forefront in supporting the objectives of Aer Rianta to develop Dublin Airport to national and international standards. I also acknowledge the unique contribution the airport has made and will continue to make to the economy of north Dublin, the Dublin region and the country. The high growth in air traffic through the airport and the vehicular congestion on the roads around the airport and to and from the city centre has raised public awareness of environmental issues and the justification for developing the airport to increase passenger numbers from 13 million to 40 million per year with the provision of a second runway.
Notwithstanding the decision by Aer Rianta many years ago to plan for a second runway, it is imperative that before work begins on the environmental impact statement we reconsider this decision. I am, therefore, calling on the Minister to commission an independent study of the projected aviation requirements of the country and the desirability of a second international airport in the greater Dublin/midland region. Can anyone envisage the impact of 40 million passenger movements per year at Dublin Airport? It will lead to major traffic congestion, chronic gridlock affecting business and quality of life and the impact of noise pollution on residential areas, such as Portmarnock, St. Margaret's, the southern end of Swords and Baldoyle, where it is envisaged that future developments will take place under the existing flight path of the airport. There will also be miles of car parking with its implications for flooding in the area, high demand for office space developments and a further significant housing demand in the Dublin region at the expense of other regions.
I recommend a regional approach to meet the civilian aviation needs of the country in the years ahead. The Labour Party national spatial plan envisages a new planning approach to Ireland as a whole and not solely for Dublin. It also encourages job creation outside Dublin. This was the stated policy of the Government, which is in the process of devising its own plan.
In reply to a recent question the Minster referred to the Warburg Dillon Read report on the review of the strategic options for Aer Rianta. The consultants looked at the capacity of Dublin Airport to meet future needs. It did not consider the environmental effects of trebling the capacity of the airport, nor at alternative locations. As such, the report is flawed. It stated that transport access to Dublin Airport in its present form presents a significant constraint on its ability to meet future passenger growth.
We live in changed times. There is greater awareness of environmental issues and the quality of life. Those living in the environs of Dublin Airport and under the flight path are no longer prepared to take directions from the Minister and Aer Rianta on issues that affect their daily lives. Rather than engaging in a confrontational approach it would be in the interests of proper planning and balanced regional development if a comprehensive study of alternatives was undertaken.
The local groups formed to campaign on this issue are not opposed to the development of Dublin Airport, far from it. They have always welcomed planned developments at the airport and they fully support its critical role in employment and the economic development of north Dublin. They accept that the existing runway will be used to its full capacity. A new east-west runway, with all its consequences, is unacceptable to these communities. It is imperative that the Minister and Aer Rianta take cognisance of this and respond accordingly.
I thank Deputy Ryan for sharing his time with me. I am also a great supporter of Dublin Airport. The economic development it has brought to the region is very important, not only to the approximately 16,000 jobs directly at the airport but those associated with its location. However, being a supporter of the airport does not mean I am blind to its needs and to what should or should not happen there.
I call on the Minister of State, as I have on the Minster, to pause, to tell Aer Rianta not to proceed with the EIS on the basis of the need for a second large runway, which would be a fourth runway in total. Time should be taken to undertake a major assessment of the country's aviation needs. Many questions have not been answered to my satisfaction. Why has there not been more development of Shannon, Knock and Cork airports? Why has there not been more development of other regional airports? Dublin Airport does not have the capacity to be allowed grow its passenger numbers to 40 million per annum.
The lives of people in Portmarnock are being seriously hampered and damaged by the airport and the noise and pollution emanating from it. In their interests and in the interests of the proper development of the airport I ask the Minister to pause, undertake an assessment and take into account all the different indices before proceeding, if at all, with the second runway. If the Minister does not do that he will do a disservice to the airport, the people working there and the communities in the area.
I compliment Deputies Ryan and Owen for raising this important issue. The Minister for Public Enterprise outlined the position in regard to the proposed new parallel runway in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 162 of 15 May. As the House is aware, proposals on the development of the three State airports, including Dublin Airport, are, in the first instance, a matter for Aer Rianta, which has statutory responsibility to manage, operate and develop the airports and to provide such facilities as it considers necessary for aircraft and passengers.
Dublin Airport is the country's main airport, serving the needs not just of the travelling public in the capital city and the surrounding counties, but of the country's tourism, business and freight sectors generally. Notwithstanding the greatly welcome increase in traffic at Shannon and Cork airports and to a lesser extent at the regional airports, Dublin Airport will remain crucial to the national economy. Apart from being the country's main access point by air, Dublin Airport has been, and still is, highly significant in terms of the local economy of the north side of Dublin. It provides substantial, valuable employment for the people of the surrounding areas, directly and indirectly, through the multitude of service industries that have evolved in and around the facility. This, of course, is also true of the other two State airports at Shannon and Cork.
Aer Rianta is currently engaged in a review of its long-term master plan for Dublin Airport. That review is being carried out in consultation with the stakeholders including airlines, other business customers and local residents. The plan will determine the key requirements for future development of infrastructural facilities to ensure that the airport has sufficient capacity to meet future demand.
The Minister of State should stop there. That is what we were looking for.
The process of stakeholder consultation is not yet complete. Regarding the suggestion of the need to identify an alternative facility to serve the Dublin region, I remind the Deputy that this issue was addressed in the consultants' report into the future strategy for Aer Rianta, which the Minister commissioned from Warburg Dillon Read. The consultants confirmed that Dublin does not need a second airport.
Aer Rianta have appointed an environmental impact consultant to assess the environmental implications of the proposed new runway. While this environmental impact assessment is an essential part of the planning process, it will be an extremely useful and informative study in its own right, leading to a much greater understanding of the issues involved and clarifying for all interested parties the impacts and implications of expanding runway capacity at Dublin Airport. By the end of this year, Aer Rianta will install and commission noise and flight track monitoring equipment which will provide precise measurements of the noise generated by all arriving and departing aircraft at Dublin Airport as well as monitoring and recording the track or flight path flown by those aircraft. This equipment will facilitate the most effective management of runway operations at Dublin and assist in ensuring that local communities experience the least possible disturbance from aircraft noise. Aer Rianta will make the data from this monitoring system available to the local communities and to the planning authority.
Finally, it should be remembered that the proposal to proceed with the runway project will in the first instance be subject to planning permission being obtained. The planning process will provide the appropriate forum for all interested parties, including local residents, to have their views and any concerns heard and taken into account by the planning authorities.
Unfortunately the Minister of State has missed the point. It will be too late then.