Government defends paying €2.75m for Aran Islands airport that had been valued at €600,000

A GOVERNMENT department has defended paying €2.75m for an airport on the Aran Islands that had been valued at €600,000 in an independent report they commissioned.

The purchase of Aerfort Chonamara was confirmed in December by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, which said the airport was “of strategic importance”.