Councillor: Make Cork Airport report public

The Minister for Transport should make public the findings of a report on the Cork Airport debt issue, according to Councillor Michael O’Connell, chairman of the South West Regional Authority’s Cork Airport Consultative Committee.

Mr O'Connell said it was imperative that the findings of the report were made public as soon as possible.

The consultants report, completed in May, examined how Cork would handle any level of debt and how commercially viable the airport would be if forced to do so.

Speaking ahead of a meeting today between Cork airport chairman Joe Gantly and the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, Mr O’Connell said: “The details of this report have never been made public and we need to ensure that this happens.”

Mr Gantly was due to meet Mr Dempsey at Dáil Eireann later today, where the two were scheduled to meet this afternoon.

It is understood Mr Gantly will be the only Cork Airport representative attending the meeting.

The issue of a viable airport business plan was to be discussed at the meeting.

Mr Dempsey and Mr Gantly were also due to discuss a range of associated issues surrounding the €220m debt facing the airport.

Local business interests are annoyed that the Government hasn’t kept to a pledge made four years ago that a new independent board set up to run the airport would be debt free.

Mr O’Connell also raised concerns over the future of a 40-acre land bank at the airport, which he hoped would be raised with the Minister.

Assurances were needed about the future of the valuable resource, said Cllr O’Connell.

He said: “That land was needed for the future development of the airport and would probably be required for transatlantic flights”