‘Outlook poor’ for late airport terminal, says Cullen
During ill-tempered exchanges in the Dáil, Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen demanded to know when the terminal would begin operating.
The development, officially costed at €160 million, has run over-budget and over-time, and was originally scheduled to open on May 10.
Mr Cullen said the terminal would be completed within the next few days, but couldn’t say when it would open.
“That’s entirely a matter for Cork Airport Authority, it’s not me,” he said, before adding: “If they can’t manage to open the blooming terminal after getting €200 million spent on it… that’s a poor outlook for the future, isn’t it?”
The final decision as to when the terminal will open rests with the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). Until the three airports are separated, Dublin retains control over both Cork and Shannon.
A spokesman for the DAA stressed last night that it would make the decision in tandem with management at Cork. The DAA was now confident the terminal would open in early July, he added.
A spokesperson for Cork Airport Authority said management was extremely shocked and disappointed by the minister’s comments.
“The delivery and opening of the new terminal are completely outside the control of the CAA,” he said.
The break-up of Aer Rianta won’t occur until both the transport and finance ministers are satisfied as to the viability of plans for individual airports. A crucial issue in finalising those plans is the matter of the terminal debt at Cork.
Mr Cullen’s predecessor, Seamus Brennan, had pledged that Dublin would meet the full cost of developing the terminal. Both Cork and Shannon, Mr Brennan said, would begin life as independent entities free of debt.
However, the Government has since clearly signalled that it will renege on that commitment. Mr Cullen has argued it would be wrong to saddle the entire debt associated with the terminal on Dublin.
Pressed on the matter yesterday, he said: “The reality is that Cork want a debt in excess of €200m to be landed at the door exclusively of Dublin Airport ... It’s certainly not the position of Fianna Fáil in government to do that. We want a balanced outcome for the development of all of the airports.” He promised a conclusion on the issue in the coming weeks.
Mr Allen labelled reneging on the commitment, “a cock-up and betrayal of a promise”.
