Transport Minister Noel Dempsey has become the third consecutive transport minister to fail to deliver his own Government’s promise of debt-free status for Cork Airport.

Minister Dempsey met with the Chairman of the Cork Airport Board, Mr Joe Gantly in Dublin yesterday afternoon where he informed Mr Gantly that he would not be making any decision on when Cork and Shannon airports would become independent of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) until he had received full business plans from them.

The already embattled Transport Minister came in for further criticism as a result of the meeting with Mr Gantly. Cork Fine Gael Senator Jerry Buttimer called on the Minister to resign if he couldn’t deliver on the promise of a debt-free airport, this was the second call for Minister Dempsey’s resignation in one day.

Senator Buttimer who sits on the South West Regional Authority (SWRA) Cork Airport Consultative Committee told the Cork Independent, “This is more gamesmanship, the Minster is clearly afraid to make a decision. Calling for a business plan is a joke, one was submitted to the DAA in May but you can’t produce a detailed plan until you know what the situation with the debt is going to be.

“You can’t expect people sitting on the board to take on the liability of drawing up a business plan when they don’t even know what the finances are likely to be. I’m calling on the Minister to deliver on the promise or resign,” he concluded.

The Chairman of the SWRA Airport Committee, Labour city councillor Michael O’Connell described the outcome of the meeting as “absolutely appalling”. Cllr O’Connell said that he would be tabling a motion of no confidence in the DAA’s ability to run Cork Airport.

He told the Cork Independent, “The Minster should consider resigning as should Mr Gantly whose position has been made virtually untenable by this. He is simply not being allowed to do his job. If they think in Dublin they wont be hearing from us in Cork over this they are very wrong”.

A spokesperson for Minster Dempsey described the meeting as being “very positive” but admitted there had been no essential change in the situation regarding Cork Airport. Mr Gantly was not available for comment at the time of going to press.

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