This article is from page 4 of the 2008-02-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, has ruled out the privatisa- tion of Shannon Airport.
But Mr Dempsey revealed that re- cent sales of Dublin Airport Author- ity (DAA) assets has resulted in the authority enjoying a net cash position at the end of 2007. This represents a boost for Shannon Airport’s inde- pendence bid.
Mr Dempsey said he had no inten- tion of privatising either Shannon or
Cork airports, in a Dail response to Labour TD, Tommy Broughan.
The Department of Transport is still considering the Shannon Aiur- port Authority’s business plan, which was first lodged with the DAA.
“The actual timing of airport re- structuring will depend on the crea- tion of the appropriate conditions that will ensure the financial sustain- ability of each of the three State air- ports,’ said Minister Dempsey.
“The restructuring process will re- quire coordinated strategies for the
achievement of operational and fi- nancial readiness of each airport. In this regard, the Dublin Airport Au- thority (DAA) has a key role to play in finalising the financial framework and coordinating the individual busi- ness plans for the three airports that will enable airport separation to take place,” he added.
Minister Dempsey said that the DAA, which owns Shannon, Dublin and Cork airports, had overall bor- rowings of just under €500 million as at the end of 2007. Just over €200
million related to Cork Airport, al- most €/70 million to Shannon and the remainder to Dublin.
“Following recent disposals of Great Southern Hotels and DAA’s interests in Birmingham and Ham- burg Airports, DAA net debt levels have fallen sharply in the short term, resulting in a temporary net cash position at the end of 2007, before rising steadily again over the period referred to by the deputy,” said the minister.
“Precisely what DAA’s debt levels will be over this period will depend upon a number of factors. However, in the context of the DAA’s capi- tal investment programme over 10 years, DAA’s debt position will rise substantially, with net borrowings increasing to over €1 billion over the course of the next five years.
“The future level of debt at Shannon and Cork will depend on a number of factors including, most significantly, the business plans for these airports which are currently being assessed by my department.
“The State Airports Act 2004 pro- vides the framework for the estab- lishment of Shannon and Cork as independent airports. Under the Act, both the Minister for Finance and I will have to be satisfied as to the state of operational and financial readi- ness of the three airports before any vesting of assets can take place,” the minister said.