Limerick Chamber has today welcomed the announcement of a competitive route fund for Irish airports as a potential major breakthrough for balanced regional development.
Responding to the announcement, Dee Ryan, Limerick Chamber CEO said: “Limerick Chamber has been lobbying hard for specific interventions to support Shannon Airport fulfil its potential as a key driver of our Mid-West regional economy. Most recently we used the evidence presented in our aviation impact report by Copenhagen Economics to specifically call for intervention on route development funding, with Frankfurt, which is valued at €412m in terms of its contribution to the region, being a key business route for Shannon Airport post-Brexit.
“Shannon and, indeed Knock, Kerry and Cork airports are key instruments of economic growth for their respective regions. However, Shannon and other airports’ ability to compete for new routes has been severely restricted by the anti-competitive dominance of Dublin Airport, which currently controls 96% of all passenger growth coming into Ireland.
“It is essential that we recognise state owned airports should be used strategically for the benefit of the country. While Dublin Airport undoubtably played a significant role in the state’s economic recovery, at this point in time the continued unchecked growth in Dublin Airport is actually working against Ireland Inc. The initiative announced today as part of Budget 2020 is a first step in using state owned assets to deliver on their potential. A €2.5m fund is a start and more will be needed but we welcome this initiative wholeheartedly.”
Limerick Chamber President Eoin Ryan said: “This is a very important moment for not just Shannon and the other airports across the regions but for balanced regional development. Limerick Chamber, together with Ennis, Galway and Shannon chambers, recently published a study by Copenhagen Economics which showed if Dublin Airport is the only airport that is achieving real growth, it will be next to impossible for regional economies outside of the Greater Dublin Area to grow.
“Government has very much taken that message on board with this route development fund. It is a very important aviation policy initiative to support the goals of Project Ireland 2040, which is all about ensuring broad economic growth on our island instead of it being confined to the Greater Dublin Area.
“It is now up to Shannon and other airports in the regions to make a compelling case as to why route support funding for their airports will reap the kind of dividend required for the funds to be released.”
Limerick Chamber will now focus efforts on lobbying Government to implement the other recommendations of the Copenhagen Economics report. Dr. Catriona Cahill, Chief Economist with Limerick Chamber said ‘Aligning aviation policy with business/enterprise policy is the crucial next step in ensuring the viability of the routes beyond the funding stage. We look forward to meeting Minister Humphreys and the Taoiseach to discuss this further.”
Note to editors
Among the findings of the recent Copenhagen Economics report commissioned by Limerick Chamber and supported by Ennis, Galway and Shannon Chambers were that significant capacity expansion planned for Dublin Airport will make it very difficult for other airports to maintain current routes and passenger levels and deny their ability to act as catalysts for regional growth as foreseen in Project Ireland 2040 and the Regional Enterprise Plan.
The report called for a roadmap for more balanced growth in the regions that builds on a closer integration of aviation policy with enterprise policy.
The report was commissioned by Limerick Chamber and supported by Shannon, Ennis and Galway Chambers in response to the need for enhanced direct air connectivity into the regions to support business and, not least, foreign direct investment. Collectively these four Chambers represent 1,358 members supporting 105,500 jobs across the Mid-West and West – the biggest single mobilisation of business outside the capital on a single issue.
Titled, ‘The Assessment of aviation policy as a driver of economic development in the West and Mid-West of Ireland’, the report focuses largely on the challenges around growing the key gateway airport for the Mid-West and West, Shannon Airport. It was presented to government and Oireachtas members, including Transport Minister Shane Ross.
Recommendations set out in the report are:
- The Department for Transport, Tourism and Sport should assess the costs and benefits of increasing the number of Irish airports eligible for state aid and compare them to alternative policy instruments to secure balanced regional growth. This would allow airports outside Dublin to compete on more equal terms and improve the business case for opening new routes out of Shannon and Cork airports
- The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport should examine the costs and benefits of implementing a national route development fund to support the delivery of strategic FDI routes in airports outside of the Capital
- The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport should commission an updated capacity review study that analyses the capacity of the airport network as a whole and makes recommendations in line with Project Ireland 2040 goal of balanced regional development
- The Commission for Aviation Regulation should give due regard to the goals of Project Ireland 2040 when making its maximum airport charge determination for Dublin Airport
- Furthermore, the CAR should ensure that the independent slot coordinator takes existing airport capacity elsewhere in the country into account when allocating slots at Dublin Airport
- The Department for Business, Enterprise and Innovation should more actively use aviation policy to achieve their ambition of balanced regional growth
- Tourism Ireland should consider allocating a larger share of the funding to market tourist destinations outside Dublin and promote alternative routes
- Regional actors should collaborate to develop a smart specialisation strategy that builds on inherent strengths and helps alleviate growth constraints in the West and the Mid-West
- Shannon Airport should ensure that its operational processes and infrastructure continue to be efficient
Share On.....