Cork Airport to battle on as Dublin insists it take on €100m debt

THE bitter stand-off over Cork Airport’s potentially crippling debt is set to drag on.

The Cork Airport Authority (CAA) said last night that negotiations about the crisis will continue despite the insistence of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) that it cannot achieve independence unless it accepts a €100 million debt.

The position effectively places responsibility for resolving the four-year row squarely at the feet of the Government.

The CAA held an emergency meeting yesterday morning at the airport’s Radisson Hotel to discuss the latest development in the drawn-out saga.

It was called to discuss a letter from the DAA chairman, Gary McGann, who wrote to CAA chairman Joe Gantly on November 26 insisting the CAA take responsibility for €100m of the €220m debt incurred as part of the redevelopment costs at Cork Airport.

As far as the DAA is concerned, the only way for Cork Airport to achieve independence is for the CAA to take on the €100m debt as indicated by the Taoiseach, the DAA and supported by the findings of consultants, Mr McGann wrote.

In the absence of this, the DAA will propose to the Government that the CAA will not separate from the DAA, he added.

Mr McGann’s letter was written despite a Government pledge in 2003 that the CAA would start independent operations debt-free.

A report commissioned by the CAA earlier this year also found that in ideal circumstances, the airport could only handle a maximum debt of between €50m and €60m.

The CAA agreed a one-line statement which was issued through its public relations company after yesterday’s meeting. It read: “Negotiations between the Dublin Airport Authority, the Cork Airport Authority and the Department of Transport are continuing.”

A spokesperson declined to comment further and said what was discussed at board meetings was confidential.