Minister: Get tourists to fly into Cork and Shannon to overcome Dublin passenger cap

James Lawless said there need to be creative solutions to the impasse caused by the 32 million a year passenger limit

Ryanair wrote to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan asking him to direct the Irish Aviation Authority to authorise additional slots at Dublin Airport this winter. 

A government minister has suggested getting Dublin-bound tourists to fly to Shannon and Cork airports instead as a solution to the ongoing saga over a passenger cap at Dublin airport.

Junior Transport Minister James Lawless made the comments following a meeting with Ryanair in the long-running saga over Dublin Airport's passenger cap.

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary met with the media before Mr Lawless and said there had been no solutions put forward by the Government.

The company on Monday wrote to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan asking him to direct the Irish Aviation Authority to authorise additional slots at Dublin Airport this winter. 

Ryanair has said that a proposal to charter flights for Leinster Rugby has been rejected due to a lack of slots. Mr O'Leary also said that flights to Lapland from Dublin will be affected because of the passenger cap which is awaiting a decision by planning authorities.

However, Mr Lawless said he does not believe the Ryanair proposal is "a runner". He said it is not simply a case of authorising new slots while the planning process is under way.

Mr Lawless said there needs to be creative solutions to the impasse caused by the 2007 planning decision to limit passenger numbers at the airport to 32 million a year. He said part of this would be regional balance and this could be achieved by more people using Cork and Shannon airports.

Asked if this means he believes tourists coming to Dublin should seriously consider flying into Shannon or Cork Mr Lawless said he does.

"Very much. We have 22 million passengers coming to Dublin at the moment. That's still a lot. I want it to be 40 million, but that's still a lot.

"We have a minuscule fraction of those numbers going to Shannon, going to Cork. There's also, let's not forget regional airports. There is a huge, significant number of tourists that travel to Ireland and end up getting on buses traveling now to see the Cliffs of Moher, see the Ring of Kerry, the Blarney stone, etc. 

"They're flying to Dublin because Dublin is known as a destination. If you're studying geography, if you're living abroad, you don't necessarily know other locations. That's a marketing effort."

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Mr Lawless said he expects Ryanair to continue to apply for new slots, but said this is a "publicity stunt".

"I expect Ryanair will continue to seek slots over the coming months. They know the answer is going to be no. We had that discussion this morning. They're going to keep doing it anyway. That's that's their entitlement. That's their business. They're perfectly entitled to do it.

"I'm in the business of politics, we do plenty of stunts as well. But look, this is a serious business, and I think it doesn't serve anybody to reduce it to theatrical cartoon behaviour."

The minister said he would prefer that the passenger cap is lifted but said the situation needs to be managed until a decision is made.