The Government must honour its commitment to Waterford Airport, says local Independent TD, Matt Shanahan.
Deputy Shanahan says that €375,000 in government funding has not yet been granted to Waterford Airport, as the airport currently awaits approval for a runway extension.
No commercial flights have taken off from the airport since 2016, with doubts remaining regarding funding from the private sector for the runway extension project.
Waterford airport is still awaiting An Bord Pleanála's decision on whether the runway extension will be approved.
Deputy Shanahan says it looks as though the government is back-tracking on its commitments.
"The government might be walking back on commitments that they gave to put in interim funding until the new runway is complete. The government had committed €375,000 but they now appear to be walking back on that."
Deputy Shanahan, alongside fellow independent TDs Verona Murphy and Michael Lowry, has questioned why other regional airports have received funding throughout the year.
Myself and South East Deputies Lowry and Murphy visited R117 and Waterford Airport to see how these 2 strategic regional assets are being supported. We learned how R117 could be utilised more by national ambulance service - We also learned Gov funding to Waterford Airport has pic.twitter.com/oPWQ7lXTUE
— Matt Shanahan TD (Ind) 🇺🇦 🇪🇺 (@MattShanahanTD) August 17, 2021
"We understand the interim funding commitment is now under review because of the extended timeline of the project. That seems completely unfair to us on two counts. An Bord Pleanala have not yet made a decision to grant the planning application. Secondly, we've had a record amount of capital disbursements particularly into the aviation sector, and all the regional airports."
The Independent TD says the government cannot row back on their commitments. He says the South East has not been given a fair share of capital allocations.
"We need government to honour its commitments and not walk back from them. There was a commitment given. Everyone accepts in this region, that we have not been getting a fair share of capital allocations. The government has signalled almost €25bn in capital allocations in the country this year and next year. What we are asking for for the airport is a tiny amount of that overall consideration of money. It would be unacceptable to me, and the other independent deputies, that there would be any walking back on commitments that have been given to Waterford Airport."
Department response
Waterford received over one million euro in state funding under the Regional Airports Programme in 2016, but has not received any department of transport funding since then because no scheduled flights are running.
In a response to a parliamentary question from Sinn Fein's David Cullinane in June this year (2021), the Department stated that:
"As the Deputy will be aware, in June 2019, the previous Government gave approval, in principle, to providing Exchequer funds of €5m towards a €12m runway extension project at Waterford Airport.
The Government decision was made on the basis that the construction of the runway extension and related works would be completed by summer 2020. Furthermore, it was agreed that any Exchequer contribution would only be paid on completion of all upgrade works and the runway being confirmed ‘ready for service’ by the Irish Aviation Authority.
As part of this decision, Government also committed to providing operational supports, on an exceptional basis, to the airport to ensure the continuation of the Search and Rescue (SAR) services at the Waterford base as well as general aviation services while the runway was being constructed. Since 2018, Waterford Airport has received €1.5 million in operational supports - €750,000 in 2018 followed by €375,000 in each of the years 2019 and 2020. It has not received any funding in 2021 and I have informed Waterford Airport that in the absence of flights, the Airport fails to meet the connectivity objective associated with Government policy on regional airports. While some operational payments to Waterford airport were made on an exceptional basis between 2018 and 2020 in anticipation of the return of scheduled services, the radically changed outlook for the return of such services means that such payments cannot be continued and Waterford airport have been advised of this position.
Furthermore, given the changed circumstances in the context of the project timeline and the impacts of Covid19 on the aviation market and wider economy, I have informed Waterford airport that any renewal of a commitment to provide Exchequer funds of €5m for development works will need to take account of these circumstances as well as the enhanced obligations that are now in place under the revised Public Spending Code, which was published in December 2019."
