Dublin Airport expansion: Turbulence ahead for 3rd terminal

If there’s anything guaranteed to start a fight between regional and capital cities, it’s a proposal — or even just talk about a proposal — for a major capital expenditure development, ideally involving railways and aviation. So Transport Minister Shane Ross will not be surprised by the speedy and largely negative reactions to the report on the future needs of Dublin, Cork, and Shannon he shared with his Cabinet colleagues this week. While there’s little in the review by Oxford Economics to bring cheer to managers and workers at Cork and Shannon, Dublin is promised — or perhaps that should be threatened with — the possibility of a third terminal to handle annual passenger numbers forecast to rise to 61m a year by 2050. It has a target date for being built of around 2030.

That might seem – because it is – a long, long way down the line, but Mr Ross has decided that a decision on a third terminal, possibly funded privately, for Dublin will be made in the early months of next year, which leaves scarcely any time for regional authorities and agencies to study the proposals, interrogate the forecasts on which they are premised, and, if necessary, table alternatives that can endure thorough investigation.