Éamon Ó Cuív: Sale of €8m airstrips may only recoup €500k

A decision to sell off two west coast airstrips has been slammed by a former minister after it emerged the State may only get a fraction of what it cost to build them.

The airstrips at Cleggan and Inishbofin off Connemara were built by the State at a combined cost of more than €8m.

But former Gaeltacht and islands minister Éamon Ó Cuív said the Government “would be lucky” if it recouped €500,000.

He compared the decision to dispose of the airstrips to selling off the Harcourt St railway line in Dublin and buying it back at several times the price in order to build the Luas line.

The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has confirmed that initial steps are being taken to dispose of the two airstrips, which are not in official use. No sale price has been agreed, but the cost of developing the facilities was €8,625,637.

The department is carrying out a review of the Aran Islands air service, but Mr Ó Cuív claimed that this was an indication of a lack of State commitment to coastal communities. Referring to the planned sale of the airstrips, he added: “The department might get half a million euro if it is lucky, and it is a total waste of public funds to sell them.”