FG-Labour ‘would leave Cork Airport debt-free’

ENDA KENNY and Pat Rabbitte will remove the €100 million debt hanging over Cork Airport if their parties are in power after the election.

The pledge was made by a general election candidate who hopes to regain a Dáil seat, which he lost in the 2002 election.

Councillor Paddy Sheehan (FG) made the promise at a Cork County Council meeting amid heated debate which saw opposition parties trying to bait Fianna Fáil over the broken promise to let the Cork Airport Authority (CAA) start its life debt-free.

The debate started when FG leader on the council, Councillor Tom Sheahan, said all steps should be taken to stop Dublin Airport Authority selling off land adjoining Cork airport.

“If that is allowed to happen it will be a national scandal,” Mr Sheahan said.

He added that he was also concerned that not removing the debt would lead to increased landing charges, which would in turn scare-off some carriers.

Cllr Paddy Sheehan, glaring at the FF benches, said: “It was another of the false promises that your party likes to give out. Stop dilly-dallying around. Kenny and Rabbitte will deliver, they will get rid of the debt,” Mr Sheehan said.

As Fianna Fáil members tried to shout him down, FG’s Councillor Kevin Murphy got in on the act by reminding them of the promise made by then Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan.

“It was a written guarantee by Minister Brennan and it was agreed by the cabinet that Cork Airport would be debt free,” he said.

Councillor Kevin O’Keeffe (FF) shouted at him that it wasn’t agreed by cabinet members, but Mr Murphy stuck to his claim and added that the South-West Regional Authority should try and prevent any sale of land adjoining the airport.

FG Councillor Noel O’Connor said that there was no doubt that the debt would hit services and he said that for the Government TDs not to think so showed how remote their thinking had become.