Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 1 Jul 1987

Vol. 116 No. 13

Adjournment Matter. - Waterford Airport.

Mr. O'Shea

I thank the Chair for affording me this opportunity to make a case for funding for Waterford Airport. Why is there an airport in Waterford in the first place? To go back to its origins, the need for an airport in Waterford has long been recognised by employers, the trade union movement and by the people of Waterford generally. In 1978 a report was produced by Dr. Michael Bannon of the Urban Planning Section of Dublin University on Waterford as a regional centre and he highlighted the need in that report for an airport in Waterford. In that year the regional manager of the Industrial Development Authority, Mr. Frank Burke, wrote to the city council pointing out that industries had been lost to Waterford because of the lack of an airport and the city council decided to take the initiative. Surveys were carried out and an area of land was earmarked and purchased by Waterford Corporation. Going hand-in-hand with this, negotiations took place between the IDA and a German glider manufacturing company who intended to put up a manufacturing unit in Waterford. The airstrip would be provided on the land already obtained by the corporation, the glider company would need the airstrip to test their gliders but it would also be available for airport activities. Unfortunately at a very advanced stage the German company pulled out of the project and the corporation were left with the land and with no prospective project.

As part of the 1979 national understanding the employment guarantee fund was set up which was subscribed to by employees, employers and by the Government. A proposal was put to the tripartite committee, who administered the fund, by Waterford Corporation and something very important happened in Waterford at that time. The social partners and the local representatives made common cause and lobbied the tripartite committee and, as a result, a total of £860,000 was provided to construct an airport at Waterford. Construction went ahead but there was not sufficient money to finish the project. A steering committee was set up consisting of the employer organisations and the local trades council to get the project off the ground but when the airstrip was finished it was obvious there were some notable omissions in the project. There was no terminal building, navigation equipment could not be provided and money was obtained by appeals from the local business community.

There have been two appeals during the years of the airport's existence which realised in the region of £200,000. Initially this money was seen as revenue which would be used for running costs but unfortunately because of the situation that had developed this money had to be used to provide capital equipment. A prefabricated building was obtained as a terminal building and the necessary navigation and radio equipment was acquired but from the very beginning there were financial problems. Waterford County Council, Waterford Corporation and the IDA also subscribed money towards running costs and Waterford County Council and Waterford Corporation continue to do this on an annual basis. The airport officially opened in December 1981. Avair, which was a national airline, operated a flight which linked into a Dublin-Cork flight which the company were organising and this flight continued until 1984 when the Avair Company went into receivership.

Waterford Airport had little activity until June 1985 when Ryanair came on the scene and a scheduled flight, the first one from any regional airport in Ireland outside of the three major airports, was put into operation and we had a flight from Waterford to London. This scheduled flight has gone from strength to strength. Initially we had 16-seater aircraft, a Bandeirante operating. This operated until June 1986 when a Hawker Siddeley 748, a 44-seater was provided. At present out of Waterford Airport there are several flights a week to Luton Airport. There is a flight every day and there are double flights on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. The number of passengers using the Ryanair service are well above expectations and the whole operation has been a success.

The airport has been faced with the problems of success because as the Ryanair service developed further capital equipment was needed. In recent times we have doubled the size of the apron, we have upgraded the fire service and, most important of all, we have upgraded our navigational aids. We had a diversion rate which caused a great deal of concern but since the new equipment has been put in place that has halved so that we are in a very strong position vis-a-vis other airports in the country regarding diversion rates.

The real rationale behind the airport is one of developing the region, developing industry, tourism, and commerce generally. I was in touch with the airport today and there were three executive jets in Waterford. They departed to Luton, Ostend and Munich. To demonstrate the regional aspect of the airport two of those planes arrived here to do business with the digital company in Clonmel.

In general the airport is progressing well. The use of the airport by the business community vis-a-vis the charter flights is increasing dramatically. There is good progress in the freight business at the airport. We must bear in mind that the previous Government agreed to grant the airport a licence to operate a duty free service. In 1981 we were faced with crisis after crisis on the running cost side. Now there is some stability there and forward planning is possible. Having appealed twice to the business community in Waterford and having obtained not alone approximately £200,000 but also a great deal of help in kind, professional services and so on, the airport is now at a stage where we cannot realistically go back to the business community again. To finish the airport to a standard which we would all desire, a number of capital items are very necessary. I stress that we see these capital items as finishing this phase in the development of the airport. If a proper terminal building is given to us and the car parking at the airport is extended, we will have new revenue generating areas and the airport can develop self-sufficiency. However, without a major capital investment at this time we cannot get to that stage as quickly as we would like.

There was no provision in the Estimates for the Minister's Department this year for local and regional airports. Last year there was a £1.1 million provision and £987,000 of that, on the outturn, has gone to Galway. We in Waterford welcome the development of Galway Airport. We welcome the development of all the regional airports because this area of our national infrastructure needs development so that Ireland can be an attractive location for industry and tourists.

Waterford city now has a definite project under way to attract more tourists to the city. We have looked at the York model in the UK. York is a city of some 160,000 people and it had a very run down city centre in the early sixties. Through the aggressive and constructive work of the local authority the city centre was greatly enhanced. They retained their old streets and developed a very important and revenue generating craft sector hand in hand with very modern shopping centres. Apart from London, York, with its historical attractions, which are very much sought after by American and continental tourists, is now the tourist capital of the UK with three million visitors per year. Waterford city has looked at that model. It is making use of the incentives for urban commercial development which were granted to the five major cities by the previous Government and a very impressive shopping development is to start later on this year in the city centre. The city council are already developing our very important and extensive historical remains. A booklet was produced recently outlining Waterford's history.

The airport will play a major role in attracting visitors to our city. It is very important that the airport should look well. We started with a prefabricated terminal building which was upgraded quite a bit in the past 12 months with money as well as a great deal of help in kind from the business community. A control tower was put in place, but we need a modern solid structure. We need also to double our apron space because at present we have not got sufficient parking space for planes.

A hangar was constructed at the airport by a local businessman who is about to provide an aircraft maintenance and repair service. A local building firm has taken a site from the corporation on the 60 acres of industrial land adjoining the airport and it is hoped that in the very near future a unit will be constructed. We have a flying club in Waterford which is continuing to prosper. There is an aviation museum at the airport which has attracted visitors from England and the Continent. There is a DC7 and a great collection of aeronautica which have increased the public awareness of the airport in Waterford.

In any speech about Waterford Airport, the vision and determination of the city manager must be given full recognition, because there would be no airport in Waterford if he had not taken the initiative and pressed for this project, and, more important, managed to get all the sections of the community pulling in the same direction. Mr. Chris Hennessy manager of Waterford Airport has been there since the beginning. He is an aviation enthusiast, a man very dedicated to Waterford but, most important of all from the point of view of the airport, a total professional. Mr. Michael Doody as city manager, and Mr. Chris Hennessy as manager of the airport have made a tremendous contribution to what we have in Waterford today.

An application was lodged with the Minister's Department on 13 October 1986 seeking £250,000 for the erection of a terminal building and a control tower. We also sought in a subsequent submission a grant to double the size of the apron. As I said earlier we are now experiencing the problems of success. We have not sufficient parking space for planes at the airport.

There is a great need to improve the access roads but that does not directly relate to the Minister's Department. I ask the Minister to use his good offices and mention this matter to the Minister for the Environment. The access roads to the airport are far from adequate. There are 1.9 kilometres of road from the city side of the airport and 6.2 kilometres on the county side which require urgent attention. A rough estimate is that £450,000 would be required to do this job adequately. We are not seeking a hand out. We will not be coming back to the Minister again. We are asking the Minister to provide us with the money to complete this phase of the airport. In the Green Paper on Transport produced by the Minister's predecessor, one of the conditions for a grant-in-aid to a local or regional airport was that 25 per cent local funding would be provided.

I did not mention earlier that in 1982 the then Fianna Fáil Government provided a grant of £50,000 for the airport and late last year the outgoing Government provided a grant of £20,000. We are seeking money to complete the airport, to give us a revenue generating base to make certain that we can rely on having the running costs of the airport. We have run this airport on a virtual shoestring. The Minister's Department will be in possession of our annual reports and any scrutiny of those will give evidence that we have used every halfpenny we have ever got to the very best effect.

If it is not possible in the Estimates to provide us with the full amount, if an ongoing commitment could be given during a number of years to help us to complete the airport, it would at least give us the chance to embark on this final part of our project.

Minister of State at the Department of Tourism and Transport (Mr. Lyons)

Ar an gcéad dul síos ní mór dom a rá go raibh sé beartaithe agam go mbeadh an tAire anseo ach tá sé i gcomhrá, d'fhéadfaí a rá, le daoine mar gheall ar eitileáin agus a leithéid agus ní raibh sé ar a chumas a bheith anseo. Ach de bharr seo, tá anáthas orm bheith anseo mar is í seo an chéad uair dom san Ard Teach, an Seanad, agus tá súil agam go mbeidh mé anseo arís go minic as seo amach. De réir dealraimh ní féidir leis an Roinn Turasóireachta agus Iompair éalú ó chúrsaí eitleoireachta faoi láthair. Mar sin féin cuirim fáilte roimh an seans seo chun ceist Aerphort Phort Láirge a shoiléiriú don Seanad.

At the outset I would like to make the point that the Minister, Deputy Wilson, is, as Members are well aware, heavily involved in discussions on air transport at this time. People are causing us little problems here and there which are not of our making. We wish him well in trying to solve a problem that has been going on between two of our neighbours for some while.

I would like to outline the broad parameters which apply in the case of regional airport development. In recent years, Exchequer grants of almost £14 million have been provided for the development of such airports. Given the extremely difficult budgetary position faced by the Exchequer in this period I am sure Senators will agree that this level of financial assistance has been very generous.

The establishment of additional regional airports or the financing of improvement works at existing ones is essentially a matter in the first instance for local initiative, subject to compliance with the technical aviation requirements of my Department and of planning legislation. As far as State financial assistance for such projects is concerned, the situation is that before this question can be considered, an assured local contribution of at least 25 per cent of the capital cost of the project is required.

Exchequer assistance can be made available only in cases where there would be clear economic benefits, assessed on an objective basis, from investment in the project. Such assessments are based on the following criteria: (1), the need for the project; (2), the market potential for scheduled services; (3), the likely return from the capital invested and (4), the impact on local employment and other infrastructural services in the area.

In the specific case of Waterford Airport, I am sure Senators will be interested in the following information. Waterford Airport was constructed in 1980-81 at a cost of £1.2 million. Since then additional expenditure of about £150,000 has been incurred on various improvements bringing total investment in the project up to £1.35 million. Of that figure an amount of over £930,000 in capital grant assistance has been provided by the Exchequer. This figure comprises £860,000 from the employment guarantee fund mentioned by the Senator and £70,000 from my Department's Vote. The most recent grant was for £20,000 and was paid in December 1986 to enable the promoters to purchase essential navigational equipment. This has helped to further improve the airport's capabilities.

So far as employment guarantee fund assistance for Waterford airport is concerned it is sometimes suggested that such funds did not represent a contribution from the Exchequer. I would like to completely refute any such assertions and to point out that the bulk of these funds was provided directly by the Exchequer and administered by the Department of Finance. Furthermore the amount of grant assistance which has been made available to Waterford over the years compares very favourably with support given to the regional airports at Farranfore, Sligo and Carnmore, Galway.

I would also advise the Seanad that in 1986 the airport promoters sought additional grant assistance of £250,000 for further development works including the provision of a new terminal building-control tower, fuel storage tanks and additional road improvements. This application was carefully considered but in the light of the substantial amount of Exchequer grant assistance already provided for the project and the many competing demands for scarce Exchequer resources, it was not possible to accede to the request.

At present Waterford Airport caters for certain international scheduled and non-scheduled flights and the technical facilities and services available to assist aircraft movements have been progressively developed at the airport over the past few years. The aviation technical staff of my Department are constantly available to give the airport authorities any advice they may need on aeronautical matters.

I am satisfied that the technical services at present available at the airport adequately comply with international standards particularly with regard to safety.

The initiatives taken recently to improve competitive conditions in air travel and to maintain fares at the lowest possible levels have acted as a major stimulus to the increase in traffic between Waterford and London. In July 1985 Ryanair introduced daily services to Gatwick from Waterford using a 15 seater aircraft. This service was such a pronounced success that in May 1986 Ryanair inaugurated the Waterford-London route and introduced a 44 seater aircraft on to the service.

Like the Senator, I acknowledge the commitment by the city manager and all others who had an input into the achievement so far attained at Waterford Airport.

Passenger loads on the route have been very satisfactory. In the period May 1986 to March 1987, over 15,000 passengers were carried on the route; this compares with carryings of 4,870 on the initial service from the date of introduction up to March 1986. Those figures indicate clearly the success of the airport.

Finally, I would like to assure Senators that I am acutely conscious of the contribution which Waterford Airport has made to the overall development of the south-eastern region and the regeneration in the area of a spirit of entrepreneurial initiative. In this regard the success of the scheduled services to London should be a major attraction for potential investors in the area. I am also satisfied that the airport authorities can, with intensive marketing, succeed in attracting successful industries to the area and in that way continue to make a major contribution to the economic development of the region as well as secure the additional funds necessary to finance improvements at the airport.

I also understand that a licence was recently granted to the airport by the Revenue Commissioners to enable duty free sales there. Duty free facilities have proved to be major revenue earners at many airports throughout Europe and this concession and the major developments in aviation and tourism at present provide the promoters with the opportunity to establish the airport as a viable proposition and to generate profits which could be used to finance future investment in the airport. I regret, however, that in the present financial circumstances I could not agree to provide or to commit, as has been requested by the Senator, any further Exchequer funds for the airport project.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.30 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 2 July 1987.