Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 16 Oct 2002

Vol. 555 No. 3

Written Answers. - Dublin Airport.

Seán Ryan

Question:

76 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Transport the number of responses he has received to his announcement of 2 August 2002 seeking proposals for a second terminal at Dublin Airport; the nature of the expressions of interest and the sources of the funding to put them into effect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18228/02]

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

98 Mr. O'Dowd asked the Minister for Transport the current status of the new terminal planned for Dublin Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18333/02]

Minister for Transport (Mr. Brennan)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 and 98 together.

The widely publicised call by my Department for expressions of interest in the concept of a second independent terminal at Dublin Airport requested interested parties to submit their responses by Thursday, 31 October 2002. There has been a strong response to the invitation and I expect further responses before the deadline.

The concept of a second, independent or competing terminal at Dublin Airport has been mooted by a number of interests in recent years and the new programme for government provides for an examination of such a proposal and to progress it if the evidence suggests that it would deliver significant benefits. The most practical way forward at this point is to explore the pros and cons involved and to test the viability of the concept by canvassing the market to which end my Department published a notice in early August calling for "expressions of interest" from interested parties. This call for expressions of interest provides an opportunity for proponents of the concept of a second, independent terminal at Dublin Airport to outline what precisely they have in mind, how it would work in practice, and possible approaches to addressing the regulatory implications for the transparent pricing of airfield facilities.

The notice set out a number of areas which should be addressed by interested parties such as a clear specification of the precise nature of their proposed concept, the preferred location for a second terminal, the benefits for airlines and other airport users, etc. However, we have not been prescriptive in any of these issues. It is entirely a matter for interested parties to address, as they see fit, the areas covered in the notice including the financing and economic dimensions of their proposals.

When these ideas and proposals are received at the end of this month, I intend to have the responses professionally assessed and to make recommendations to the Government on this issue before the end of the year. The current exercise is not a tender process but rather an informal canvas of the market for ideas which will assist me in determining if the concept of a second independent or competing terminal would deliver significant benefits. The responses received will also enable me to determine what further actions I may need to take to allow this concept to be further progressed, including the possible initiation in due course of a formal public tendering process for the provision of such a facility.