Matt Shanahan urges funding for Waterford Airport runway
Matt Shanahan addressed the Dáil on regional transport, airport funding and cardiac care, criticising Dublin Airport management and pressing for support for Waterford Airport's runway extension. He urged the minister to deliver grant-based public funding to match a newly announced private equity package and to secure 24-7 cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford.
DAA management and Dublin Airport spending
He highlighted what he called dysfunction in DAA management and criticised government spending at Dublin Airport as eyewater on sums that did not deliver efficiencies or capacity. He repeated concerns raised earlier about exclusions offered to workers made redundant and suggested short-time working or even military assistance to address the disruption.
Waterford Airport private funding and runway plans
He said private equity has been secured in the terms of 8 million euro to fund a runway extension at Waterford Regional Airport, with a further 2 million from the local authority and an anticipated 5 million from government. He recalled the airport's history as the home of Rescue 117 and as an early Ryanair base, and noted a catchment that he said mirrors that of Waterford Regional Hospital and reaches 1.5 million people within a one-and-a-half-hour travel time.
Funding delivery and local expectations
He called for the funding to be delivered by way of grant aid rather than through a public procurement capital plan, citing ongoing land acquisition for the South East TU as a reason for expedited grant funding. He asked the minister to commit that any cost overruns would be met by government and to make a formal announcement welcoming the private sector deal; he thanked Deputies Verona Murphy and Michael Lowry for their support.
Public transport fares, licensing and private operators
Shanahan criticised the NTA's 20% public transport fare reduction as not being extended to private bus operators, calling the policy uncompetitive and discriminatory and warning it could lead to lost private routes and reduced choice. He also raised that HGV and bus licences issued in Ukraine are not being accepted by the NTA while car licences are, and asked the minister to examine the discrepancy.
Cardiac care and transfer times
He detailed 134 blue-light transfers out of Waterford, with an average transfer time to Cork of 3 hours 15 minutes, and contrasted that with claims that ICU access in Dublin can be achieved in 20 minutes. Citing the international standard of a 90-minute window for accessing cardiac catheterisation from onset and first responder, he pressed for an upgraded N25 cardiac pathway and the delivery of 24-7 cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford, which he expects to be included in this government programme.
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I was hoping Minister Ryan would be here and Minister Smith because on the 28th of April I highlighted too in leaders debate the dysfunction that exists in DAA management which is all too clear to be seen at the weekend and it's also a reflection of government's ability to spend eyewater on sums in Dublin airport without any regard to the efficiencies or capacities it delivers. So if I may make a suggestion to you I think you need to look at the exclusions that were offered to workers made redundant and see can they be brought back on short time working and maybe you need to get the army in as well to try and get over this tobacco. I also want to speak about Waterford Regional Airport, the home of Rescue 117 and the capacity increases that were mooted for that airport in the 1990s. It was in fact the first regional airport used by a fledgling Ryanair. The runway extension to allow jet activity was in the last programme for government but it was walked away because of the prevailing politics at the time. The airport catchment mirrors that of Waterford Regional Hospital over 500,000 and 30,000 people and a population isochron of 1.5 million exists within a one and a half hour travel time to Waterford Airport. On the 28th of April again I raced with the minister the department stated funding of 160 million to the national aviation sector while bypassing Waterford Airport completely. So I expect minister that you may have heard in the news this morning that private equity has now been secured in the terms of 8 million euro for Waterford Airport and this to fund the expansion of the runway extension at Waterford. It will also require a combination investment of 2 million from the local authority and 5 million as stated from government before. I want to thank deputies Verona Murphy and Michael Lowry as part of our regional group in visiting and representing for the airport. Can I make a couple of points, Mr. Minister, that you might pass on to Minister Ryan. I expect that this funding will be delivered by way of grant aid and not based on some public procurement capital plan. We are presently still a year down the road in Waterford trying to acquire lands for the South East TU. So I think a grant money here would be the most expedited way to deliver funding to the airport. And I would also ask Minister that if the cost envelope of this new runway extends beyond what has been anticipated, that the people of the South East and I would expect that government will fund any shortfalls. And that is equitable treatment, something that the government has announced for shoring up cost overruns and other public sector procurement processes underway at present. I would also ask that the Minister make a formal announcement as soon as possible, welcoming the private sector announcement and honouring the deal that was made to Waterford and the South East regarding delivery of this vital infrastructure. It is long past time that it was delivered, Minister. Can I also just speak for a minute about the recent public transport fares reduction and the NTA launching a 20% reduction in public sector travel. Why was this not extended to the private sector Minister, particularly to bus operators? We understand that semi-state companies should not have a monopoly in this country, but that is exactly what you are now reinforcing with your policy. It is uncompetitive, it is discriminatory against private bus operators, and it will mean that future private routes will be lost, thereby discommoding customers in the future with less choice and more costs. I would ask you to speak to the NTA to find a way to try and support a ticketing solution to deliver discounts to these private fares also. Also, Minister, with respect to HGV and bus lorry driver licences from Ukraine, this has come up before. We have a number of people in this country who have both HGV and bus licences, but cannot have them accepted by the NTA. Car licences are immediately accepted in this country. Again, Minister, this is something that needs to be looked at. Finally, can I just mention in terms of cardiac care, Minister, I brought up in the House in the last week the issue of 134 blue light transfers out of Waterford, the average time to Cork taking 3 hours 15 minutes. Maybe you would care to comment, or the Minister might care to make a public comment on the tarnished statement in this House on the national maternity hospital debate where he said it had to be in Dublin because a lady suffering a cardiac arrest could access ICU care in 20 minutes. So what does that say for us down in the South East? I would also ask you, Minister, is government aware that the international standard protocol for accessing cardiac catheterisation is actually 90 minutes from the onset of pain and first responder? So these are things, Minister, that I hope that you will take up with Minister Ryan. We need the N25 upgraded to give us the cardiac pathway for out of hours, but far more important, we need the delivery of 24-7 cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford. I expect Minister to see this delivered in this government program. Thank you very much.
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