Businessman Mr Denis O'Brien has thrown his weight behind a campaign by Minister of State and Galway West TD Mr Eamon O Cuiv to relocate Galway airport and develop it for international travel.
Mr O'Brien, chairman of Esat Telecom, had been in discussions with Corrib Airport Company on developing the existing runway at Carnmore. Not only has he pulled out of these negotiations, he has also described the development plans as "flawed" and a "waste of taxpayers' money". However, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, has reaffirmed Government financial support for Carn more, and has said that any relocation must be "a matter for the airport board".
The debate on the future of Galway airport - or airports - has been running for some time, but temperatures have been raised by Mr O'Brien's statement.
O Cuiv, who has also been given a leg-up by Galway Corporation has earmarked 80 acres for the new site. Both the corporation and the county council commissioned consultants to examine air traffic needs. Buchanan and Associates - also authors of a land use and transportation study for Galway - estimated a market for 280,000 passengers per annum by 2012, and that a 1,600-metre runway would be required to cater for 200-seater aircraft.
"Carnmore doesn't have that amount of land available, and there would be difficulties with an extension in terms of the number of landowners out there," Mr Joe Gavin, city manager, says. "Oranmore was identified as an ideal location for a larger airport because there are only two landowners - ourselves and the Department of Defence." an Spellissy records in The History of Galway: City and County, published late last year, Carnmore aerodrome was originally a private airfield built by Ernest Steiner, a German businessman and former Luftwaffe officer, who had set up a factory outside Galway and wanted to be able to commute regularly to his home in the then west Germany In 1970, *Udaras na Gaeltachta subsidised Aer Arann to promote a daily service to the Aran islands. Spellissy quotes former Irish Times (italics) western correspondent, Michael Finlan, who described Carnmore then as "little more than a jumped-up airstrip that ended abruptly at a stone wall beyond which sheep grazed".
The corporation believes 240 acres would be required to develop an international airport, and its decision to sign over acreage at Oranmore is subject to the required balance being released by the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith.
Last month, the city council resolved to send a deputation to Dublin to meet the Taoiseach, Ms O'Rourke and Mr Smith with a view to acquiring a further 160 acres of land owned by the Department of Defence. The deputation also intends to seek State funding for the Oranmore project. How such a request will be received is another matter, given that Ms O'Rourke has made her position clear.
Two years ago her Department allocated £3.1 million to Carnmore to upgrade its runway. This funding - £1.1 million of which has been drawn down to date - still stands, a spokesman for the Minister told The Irish Times. It is understood that the initial tranche has been used to acquire extra land for the project, and a planning application has now been lodged. Mir O Cuiv has made no secret of his opposition to this expenditure. He has warned that Galway will lose out on tourist numbers if it cannot provide such a link - in spite of proximity to Shannon and accessible links to the east coast, which already make for a year-round industry.
Observing the debate are bemused members of Galway Chamber of Commerce, responsible for Corrib Airport Company at Carnmore. Mr John Coyle, businessman and chairman of the company, is not only "surprised" at Mr O'Brien's decision to pull out of talks on involvement in Carnmore, he is also mystified that the debate should be so polarised.
"We are not against an airport at Oran more, and the public clearly support Mr O Cuiv's campaign," Mr Coyle says. "The corporation's allocation of land is the first very positive step in plans for its development. However, even if such a facility did get support immediately it would be some years before construction.
"The reality is that Galway needs Carn more. It is run on a profitable basis for the business community of this area, with five flights daily to the capital. However, to maintain that success, and meet the requirements of the Irish Aviation Authority, we need to proceed with our own development plans. This time next year it will be our London City airport."
The airport has already set a 12-month target for attracting 100-seater aircraft. "We are building up traffic here, so why limit options now by trying to force a choice between two very different operations?" Mr Coyle asks. The priority for most of its commuters is the Dublin link, which is now more flexible following the introduction of an Aer Arann route, and a direct service to Britain may be viable next year. Northern Europe is also a possibility, according to Mr Jarlath Feeney, the chamber of commerce's chief executive, who points out that Galway already has a new summer air link to the Swiss capital, Zurich.
Mr Liam Barrett, a spokesman for Mr O'Brien, said Mr O'Brien was interested in supporting the Oranmore proposal, and was carrying out a feasibility study. Mr Barrett confirmed that Mr O'Brien had been in discussions with the Carnmore management in relation to taking an equity stake, but "on further reflection" he had decided that he would consider a significant investment in the development of Oranmore as the future Galway airport to be worthwhile.
Mr O'Brien had "no fault to find with Carnmore", Mr Barrett said. However, he also confirmed a statement made by Mr O'Brien on June 23rd which said Carnmore "will not be able to handle the continued economic expansion of the Galway region as the runway will never be able to be expanded to cater for the full range of Boeing 737 or equivalent commercial jets". To proceed with extending the runway would be a "waste of taxpayers' money", the statement said.
