Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 September 2021
181. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Transport the supports that will be provided to regional airports to build back routes and services following the Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44312/21]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that regional connectivity is of critical importance to this Government. In recognition of the very difficult circumstances being faced by airports and taking account of the recommendations of the Taskforce for Aviation Recovery, the Government has provided an €80 million funding package specifically for Irish aviation in 2021.
As part of that package, €21.3 million is available under the Regional Airports Programme 2021-2025 and Donegal, Ireland West (Knock) and Kerry are availing of funding under the Programme. This Programme also supports PSO air services to Donegal Airport. While it also supported a PSO service on the Kerry route, this ceased when Ryanair began operating that service on a commercial basis in July, following the collapse of Stobart Air. In light of the impact of Covid on our regional State airports, €32.1 million has also been provided to Cork and Shannon airports under a Covid19 Regional State Airports Programme in 2021.
In addition to this funding, which will put our regional airports in funds while they navigate the Covid crisis, my Department has developed EU Commission approved supplementary support schemes with a budget of €26 million to help address liquidity issues at airports as a result of Covid-19. These new schemes, include €20 million in compensation for our State Airports (Dublin, Cork and Shannon) in recognition of the impacts of Covid. This funding has provided these airports with the flexibility to roll out route incentives/charge rebates, in consultation with airlines, with a view to supporting recovery and growth of connectivity. A further €6m is also available to regional airports that provide connectivity(Donegal, Knock and Kerry) under the EU Temporary Framework in recognition of the impact of Covid on their business. While €23 million in funding has already been disbursed to these airports under these Schemes, my Department has recently invited applications from airports for further funding under the Temporary Framework.
Table 1 below outlines the total package of sector-specific supports available to aviation in 2021. These supports are in addition to the horizontal supports made available to help mitigate the effects of the pandemic on business, including a wage subsidy scheme, grants, low-cost loans, a commercial rates waiver and deferred tax liabilities. To date, the value of these supports to the Irish aviation industry is estimated to be over €300 million.
daa has developed new airport charges discount schemes at Cork and Dublin airports to help kickstart air travel to and from Ireland. Furthermore, Shannon Airport worked closely with airlines in delivering incentives to rebuild traffic, restoring capacity and securing pilot and crew jobs.
The Economic Recovery Plan published by Government on the 1 June, recognises that additional supports may be required to assist the restoration of Ireland's air links, protect jobs and support the sector’s recovery as it opens up and my officials are currently considering options in this area.
Government is committed to continuing to support our regional airports (Knock, Kerry and Donegal) under the Regional Airports Programme in 2022. With regard to Shannon and Cork airports, both of these airports meet the eligibility criteria for the Programme in 2022 and the level of funding that might be available under this Programme in 2022 is currently being considered in the context of the Estimates process in relation to Budget 2022.
The funding provided for regional airports in 2021 is set out inthe following table.
|
Grant Aid allocations |
Eligible Airports |
Capital Funding |
Current Funding |
Total Funding Allocation for 2021 |
|
Regional Airports Programme 2021-2025 (includes funding of PSO routes) |
Donegal, Kerry & Knock |
€10m |
€11.3 |
€21.3m |
|
Covid-19 Regional State Airports Programme 2021 (€32.1m) |
Cork |
€10m |
€15.6m |
€32.1m |
|
|
Shannon
|
€6.5m |
|
|
|
New Covid-19 Supplementary Support Scheme for Irish Airports (€26m) |
Dublin |
|
€17.68m |
|
|
|
Cork |
|
€1.400m |
€20m |
|
|
Shannon |
|
€0.920m |
|
|
|
Ireland West |
|
€1.931m |
|
|
|
Donegal |
|
€0.142m |
€6m (*) |
|
|
Kerry |
|
€0.913m |
|
|
Covid-19 Emergency Support – Hold Baggage Screening Project (300k of the €6.1m allocated to the project was spent in 2020) |
Shannon |
€5.8m |
|
€5.8m |
|
TOTAL |
|
€32.3m |
€52.9m |
€85.2m |
(*) The remainder will be disbursed in December following an assessment by the Department of Transport of eligible losses in the current year to end 2021.
** Funding for the HBS project is included in this Table as while it was approved in 2020 by Government, only €300k was spent by Shannon Airport in 202O with the balance of €5.8m of the allocation spent in 2021.
