There are some things that are described as imponderables. Imponderables are things, events or ideas that while seeming commonplace or every day, defy logic or explanation.

Such phenomena include "what is truth?"; "does good require evil to exist?"; "if a tree falls in a forest and nobody is there, does it make a sound?" and of course, the most enigmatic imponderable of them all, "when will Cork Airport know what debt it has to bear?".

The latter question may, in fact have been answered by the time you read this, but it does raise another imponderable, namely "why promise an airport debt-free status if you have no intention of honouring the promise?".

Up at Cork Airport there has been a discernable whiff of paranoia among the board and the management. Not surprising really that they feel the whole world is against them. The questions surrounding the current government's treatment of Cork Airport raise questions of much wider significance. If they do decide to lumber Cork with a debt of millions, however many, it will draw a line once and for all under the myth of balanced regional development in this country.

Speaking at a recent Cork Chamber conference, broadcaster Matt Cooper pointed out that the biggest threat to Cork's future prosperity was not India, China, Poland or Hungary, it is in fact Belfast. We have already seen Shannon abandoned, will Cork go the same way? At the same time increasing emphasis and hard cash continues to flow into the development of the North East corridor between Dublin and Belfast. It already has excellent road and rail links between the two cities, far superior to those between Cork and Dublin and the train is heavily subsidised.

While Cork proposes a small events centre, Belfast has the Waterfront Hall and Odyssey Arena. While Cork waits and waits and waits for funding to make developing the Docklands viable Belfast's Titanic Quarter booms, awash with Dublin money. It's clear where the private sector thinks the future lies, should we really be surprised that a Fianna Fáil government agrees with them?

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