Cork TD backs down call to reduce airport debt

A Fianna Fáil has backed down on his calls to reduce Cork airport’s debt by €20 million.

Yesterday, Deputy Noel O’Flynn said he would look for a €20 million reduction in Cork Airport’s €100 million debt.

However, following a meeting with Minister for Transport Martin Cullen yesterday, he said he was satisfied that the €100 million figure was now sustainable.

Yesterday, Minister Cullen outlined to his party deputies from Cork that independent assessors had reported that €100 million was sustainable by Cork Airport and that figure would remain.

The Minister was referring to a report completed by Aviation Economics, which was not seen by any of the Cork TDs at yesterday’s meeting.

That meeting was attended by a number of Cork TDs; Deputies Noel O’Flynn, Batt O’Keeffe, John Dennehy, Billy Kelleher and Ned O’Keeffe were joined by Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin and Minister of State Michael Ahern.

Deputy O’Flynn said: “I did speak about the reduction of the debt but Minister Cullen was satisfied with the results of that report, which said €100 million was sustainable over a long period. The board of Cork Airport now needs to make a decision. This is a State airport and as such, any loan is guaranteed by the State.”

Yesterday, financial expert Austin Hughes of IIB said that a loan of €100 million would cost in the region of €7 million a year to service.

Minister Cullen briefed deputies on the debt situation so far and said that the right decision for Cork would be to accept the debt and break free as a separate board of management.

He did not, as was expected, discuss what assets the Cork Airport Authority (CAA) have at their disposal, although he did say that a 40-acre land bank adjacent to the airport would be transferred to the CAA once it became a separate entity.

Deputy John Dennehy said that he hoped that the work of Cork Airport would not be jeopardised by any shouldering of debt.

Article courtesy of the Evening Echo newspaper.