Industry keen to invest in Shannon, says Varadkar

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has said there is real interest from industry in investing in Shannon Airport.

Mr Varadkar is due to receive two taskforce reports before the end of next month on Shannon securing its independence and said in the Dáil late last week that, given the work done by the Shannon aviation development taskforce, he is “increasingly confident that separation is going to work”.

In May, Mr Varadkar announced the Government’s intention in principle to separate Shannon Airport from the Dublin Airport Authority and immediately established a steering group of senior officials from five key government departments to bring forward proposals to implement the decision.

The steering group is being assisted by two taskforces that were established in June.

The aviation business development taskforce was established to seek out and evaluate aviation-linked business opportunities, while a management taskforce is developing proposals for the operational structure of the new Shannon entity.

Mr Varadkar told the Dáil: “There is genuine and real interest from industry in investing in Shannon.

“The infrastructure is in place and it does not involve building runways or hangers or involve support from Government. All it requires is the right business deals. The reports I have received on the work of the taskforce are very encouraging.”

He said a new Shannon management body could be put in place by the end of this year.

“We are in limbo and huge patience has been shown in the region on this point. I do not want us to be in limbo for much longer,” he said.

“The plan is to have everything done and dusted and agreed by Cabinet by mid-November, or at the end of the year by the latest, and then to begin implementation immediately.

“The legal work on separation and the business plans could take time, but for all intents and purposes the company could be established with its own board and be running itself in the new year.”

Mr Varadkar stressed that there are no plans for the outright sale of Shannon Airport to a private buyer, nor had there been any expressions of interest in such an outcome.

“If someone was willing to invest in the airport, one could not turn a blind eye, but it has not arisen and there are no plans in that regard,” he said.

He said it is intended to allow the new Shannon body be debt-free.

“There is no question of the State taking on the debts of any airport,” said Mr Varadkar said. “There is potential to work out the debt whereby the debt would stay with the DAA which would continue to pay interest on it but it would no longer have to cover the operating losses which exist at Shannon Airport.

“It could be done in such a way that it would not seriously impact on the balance sheet of the DAA, or what will be the new DAA.

“This must be worked out, but there is certainly no question of the exchequer taking on the debts of any airport.”