Martin to await report on Cork Airport debt

ENTERPRISE Minister Micheál Martin is not prepared to say who should pay the €160 million debt for Cork Airport's new terminal until a team of consultants give their view on the issue.

The Government had originally promised Cork would be debt-free when it began operating independently from Dublin and Shannon airports.

Mr Martin said he would await the outcome of the mediation process by BDO Simpson Xavier before making his final judgment.

BDO has been appointed to facilitate talks between the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and its Cork equivalent (CAA), which are at odds over who should burden the debt.

Yet the company has already been asked to step down as mediators because of an alleged conflict of interest - its previous commercial relationship with the DAA.

When Aer Rianta was being broken up, BDO was hired by the DAA to help draw up independent business plans for Dublin, Cork and Shannon. The DAA has also appointed BDO to advise on the sale of the Great Southern Hotels chain.

As a result, Labour and the Green Party believe BDO should remove itself from the mediation process.

But in an interview with the Sunday Business Post yesterday, Mr Martin said BDO should be given breathing space to deal with the issue. He said he would await its report before deciding who should pay the debt.

However, he insisted he would not support any measure that undermines the viability of Cork Airport, which lies in his Cork South Central constituency.

Last week, it emerged that the CAA will likely increase passenger and airline charges should it have to shoulder some of the debt. In response, Ryanair announced a review of its Cork operation and said any increase in charges would see it cancel its plans to add new routes from the airport.

But Mr Martin said: "My bottom line will be to ensure that whatever happens is not responsible for increasing Cork Airport charges. I would not agree with anything that undermines the viability of the airport going forward."

In the meantime, he said, he didn't want the issue being treated as a "political football."

That provoked an angry response from Green Party TD Dan Boyle, who remarked: "Oppositions TDs, who have been happy to agree on a collective political approach, have now been waiting for a fortnight for a meeting with the minister for transport that is still to be arranged. This delay can only be interpreted as Government TDs wanting to control the issue rather than honour the long-standing promise," Mr Boyle said.

In any event, Mr Martin's potential influence on the course of events could be limited by the fact that the issue is not part of his portfolio. It is the ministers for finance and transport, Brian Cowen and Martin Cullen respectively, who will give final approval to the business plans for the three airports.

A spokeswoman for Mr Martin could not be reached for further comment yesterday. BDO, which has denied any conflict of interest, is expected to make its recommendation before Easter.