This article is from page 6 of the 2012-03-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
CLARE County Council won’t have to come up with funding to run the day-to-day operations of Shannon, because the local authority won’t be given responsibility for running affairs of Clare’s international airport.
That’s the message from the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar, as he has moved to clarify what Clare County Council’s involvement in Shannon could be when the Cabinet decides on a new airport blueprint.
“Local authorities may have a role to play in ensuring the future of Shannon Airport,” Minister Varadkar told Dáil Éireann, “but I do not believe it will be their role to subvent or run it,” he added.
“They do not have the skills to do this and it is not what was intended. When the consultants (Booz & Company) were examining this issue, they might have been thinking more of Manchester and Leeds-Bradford airports, but they are within the remit of very different local authorities for areas of population of one to four millon people,” continued Minister Varadkar.
This move, which effectively pours cold water on Clare County Council being a key driver in the new Shannon Airport, comes in the wake of concerns raised by a number of councillors last week that the local authority could be lumbered with responsibility for the airport without having the financial means.
“One cannot expect local authorities to find a fanciful pool of money in the current climate,” local TD and Fianna Fáil spokesperson on transport, Timmy Dooley said.
“The Minister is well aware that local authorities do not have the money required, neither does Shannon Development,” he added.
Responding Minister Varadkar said that “we can all agree that the status quo at Shannon Airport is not working well and that this year its passenger numbers continue to fall, particularly as a result of the reduction in the number of military flights.
“Two models have been put forward for Shannon,” continued Minister Varadkar. “One of these is the CIE model which is an option, but I am not yet satisfied it would result in sufficient change because an independent subsidiarity which requires another for subvention is not really independent.
“The other option is full independence, the detail of which must be figured out because I can only recommend it to the Government if I believe it will be financially viable. I am not willing to do anything that I do not believe in my heart will be a success.
“The whole point of the process is to make a success of an airport which has been in decline for some time. Whatever happens I assure anyone with concerns that the airport will stay open,” he added.