This article is from page 8 of the 2012-11-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
THE Fianna Fáil leader was in Shannon on Friday to launch the State Airports (Amendment) Bill 2012, which states that Aer Rianta International (ARI) must be part of any future independent Shannon Airport.
The Government is proposing to cut the Clare airport loose, erase its estimated € 100 million debt, and give ARI to the Dublin Airport Authority.
The opposition party argues, however, that for the airport to survive, it must retain ARI, and is willing even to keep the debt if the profit-making company is retained in its Shannon birthplace.
Clare Fianna Fáil TD and Transport spokesperson Timmy Dooley said Fianna Fáil does not agree with separation at the moment.
“If that is the decision that is taken, it is imperative that Shannon has the appropriate means to survive into the future,” he said.
“Shannon in its current format even if you had no debt – is not profitable and unlikely to be profitable, now in a recession and in a normalised environment, unless you drum it down to a Farranfore style airport. If it is just a Farranfore style airport it is not going to accommodate the larger jets that are such an integral part of the US tourism business here. The infrastructure needs upgrading, so it needs a recurring revenue base,” he told a group in Shannon.
Among those listening were former airport employees Liam Skelly and Michael Hanrahan.
They argued that money directed to Dublin through ARI should be repaid to Shannon and Cork.
“Writing off the € 100 million is in no way compensating Shannon. We must make sure that Shannon gets a viable chance of being viable for the future,” said Mr Skelly.
“I feel that we need someone independent spells out what Shannon has lost by not having ARI and not getting a piece of the sale of the Great Southern Group. To date Shannon has made € 100 million during the 16 years it was under the old Aer Rianta.”
It is also estimated that ARI made € 160 million in the last eight years.
“Fianna Fáil believes that in the middle of an economic crisis, separating Shannon from the DAA is the wrong thing to do. However, we support the work of the steering group; particularly the aviation business development task force in identifying business opportunities for the new Shannon entity and the change management task force committee in working towards the transitional arrangements; charged with developing Shannon Airport and the region,” said Deputy Dooley.
Meanwhile the Government is expected to announce details of an arrangement with Ryanair and possibly other airlines in the coming weeks. “We are all very clear that hitching your boat entirely to the Ryanair brand certainly leave you open to potential difficulties in the future,” said Deputy Dooley.