Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 7 Mar 2002

Vol. 550 No. 2

Written Answers. - Regional Airports.

Gerry Reynolds

Ceist:

129 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if her attention has been drawn to the fact that the board of Knock International Airport had to introduce an ?8 airport charge to persons boarding aircraft to make up the shortfall in revenue in view of the termination of duty free; and if she will provide the amount of funding to the airport that the introduced charge accumulates. [7879/02]

Minister for Public Enterprise (Mrs. O'Rourke):

As the Deputy is aware, Knock Airport is a privately owned and managed airport and, as such, I have no function in relation to any decisions by the airport authorities regarding charges on the users of the facilities at Knock.

The charge to which the Deputy refers is not new. I understand from the airport authorities at Knock that it was introduced by the board of Knock Airport following the abolition of intra-EU duty free sales in mid-1999 and it is currently levied at a rate of €7.50 per departing passenger.

The Government is committed to supporting the regional airports, including Knock Airport, and in this regard I have maintained and enhanced a range of regional airport grant schemes with a view to sustaining the regional airport network into the future.

Last year, under my Department's grant scheme for support of the marketing, safety and security measures at the regional airports, a sum of approximately €444,000 was allocated to Knock Airport. Over the past three years, Knock Airport has received almost €1.25 million under this grant scheme from my Department.

In addition, five of the six regional airports are currently served by air routes linking them with Dublin Airport under the PSO regime which is subvented by my Department. Among these is the Knock/Dublin route which I established and launched as a new PSO service in January of last year and which is in receipt of a very substantial Exchequer subvention per flight.

A sum of approximately €10 million in 1999 prices was provided under the airports measure of the national development plan for the four airports in the BMW region – Donegal, Sligo, Knock and Galway. The primary aim of the measure is to provide grant assistance to support compliance by the airports with safety and security issues and also to aid where appropriate, certain infrastructural upgrades.

The evaluation of the project submissions from Knock Airport, together with those from the other five regional airports, is currently being finalised by my Department and I expect that in the coming weeks I will be in a position to issue project approvals in respect of the NDP allocations for the regional airports in both the BMW and S&E regions. I have no plans to provide Exchequer funds to any of the regional airports, outside of the three assistance measures outlined above.