Ryanair has received at least £1.25 million (€1.8m) of ratepayers' money from City of Derry Airport, it emerged today.
The massive subvention to the airline was kept secret until the North's Information Commissioner ruled details of the subvention should be released.
Airport owner Derry City Council fought for two years against a Freedom of Information request to unveil its controversial arrangements with the airline.
The deal also reveals free landing, navigation, parking, passenger fee and security were all provided to Ryanair.
Council chief executive Anthony McGurk has already admitted the airport was costing ratepayers in the region of £1.3 million to the airline headed by arch free-market exponent Michael O'Leary.
Derry householders pay among the highest rates in Northern Ireland.
In the deal struck in 1999, the council agreed to a guaranteed payment of £250,000 a year to promote Ryanair's route from Derry to London. The ratepayers' cash - also used for "operations consultancy" - was to be paid as half-yearly instalments in advance over a period of five years.
Council chiefs spent £14,000 of public money on legal costs keeping the details under wraps since being asked in January 2005 how much Ryanair was paying for use of the airport.
They argued disclosure of the deal would risk prejudicing its commercial interests and the economic interests of the region.
"If the information had been released at the date of the request in January 2005, the information would have had a significant adverse impact on the commercial interests of the airport and that of the local economy.
"The council remains confident that it acted properly in the public interest in withholding this information while the commercial agreement was in place," a council spokeswoman said.
The Information Commissioner ruled against the council last February. The council fought the decision in an appeal to the Information Tribunal which sat in Northern Ireland for the first time in October.
In a 30-page ruling, the three-panel tribunal dismissed the appeal and gave the council 30 days from December 11th to disclose the deal.
It said Freedom of Information Act exemptions claimed by the council did not apply and disagreed the local authority would be vulnerable to a claim for breach of confidence.
The council has until next month to appeal this decision to the High Court on a point of law but decided on Tuesday of this week not to spend any more money fighting the case.
Veteran campaigner and journalist Eamonn McCann, who has written extensively about the running of the airport, questioned the timing of the council's release of the deal.
"The council has waited until the brink of Christmas, when it might be a good time to bury news that they never wanted put out in the first place," he said.
"For Ryanair, negotiating with the council was like taking candy from a baby. The council was so anxious to do Ryanair's bidding for them they gave them everything they asked for in terms of ratepayers' money," Mr McCann said
Derry City Council said the deal with the low-cost carrier ended last year after the publication of EU guidelines on start-up discounts at regional airports.
PA