Thumbs-up to future funding of airport

Councillors give thumbs-up to future funding of Knock airport


Áine Ryan 

MAYO County Council will contribute essential funding to Ireland West Airport Knock (IWAK) in a new initiative that, according to the local authority’s Chief Executive, Peter Hynes, will be bolstered by ‘a significant central government investment’.
After a protracted debate at yesterday’s monthly meeting in Áras an Chontae, councillors gave a unanimous thumbs-up to the proposal after hearing a presentation by IWAK’s Managing Director, Joe Gilmore, about its financial situation and future potential. The airport hopes that six other local authorities in the region will also support the initiative.
Mr Hynes confirmed its details will be ‘thrashed out’ in the coming months. Longtime Fianna FΡil Cllr Al McDonnell said when he attended ‘an emergency meeting’ about the future of the airport in January 2013, he was confident the new committee, established by Taoiseach Enda Kenny, and chaired by Deputy John O’Mahony, ‘would come up with a plan for its viability’.
“We did not anticipate that you would be here today begging for money when Government can find €100 million for Shannon airport but cannot find €8 million for Knock”, Cllr McDonnell said.
However, speaking later, his party colleague, Cllr Brendan Mulroy, said ‘there was no point in scoring political points about the issue’. “Of course, we will invest in Knock Airport. This should not descend into a circus about who did, and did not, put it here,” Cllr Mulroy said. He reiterated Cllr Christy Hyland’s query about why the western region was not included in the strategically important Trans-European Network, which is set to receive up to €31 billion in funding.
Mr Gilmore said the airport had made representation about this but was told the western region does not meet the criteria. Meanwhile, Fine Gael’s Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said it was ‘in everybody’s interest for Knock airport to be successful’ and, moreover, that the ‘Government was working towards that goal’. “I think Taoiseach Enda Kenny should be praised for establishing this committee, chaired by John O’Mahony, in order to identify issues and structures that can be put in place.”
He observed that comparisons with Shannon were not helpful, since it was originally set up by the State, while Knock was a private company.
Mr Gilmore confirmed that despite growth of five per cent on last year however, IWAK still has an average of 30 per cent capacity on flights to fill and it hopes to grow passenger numbers to 1.3 million and double the tourism spend in the region to €260 million.
Ireland West Airport Knock currently has debt of €10 million, and received only €500,000 of a subvention from the exchequer last year. Mr Hynes explained at yesterday’s meeting that a change in Government policy meant that shortfall in IWAK’s operational costs would now be met for another ten years. This had been due to cease at the end of this year, he said.