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.