The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton, has announced the provision of more than €21 million in direct Exchequer supports to Shannon, Cork, Ireland West, Kerry and Donegal airports.
Details
According to a statement published on Gov.ie, this funding is being administered under the Regional Airports Programme 2021-2025, and is set out as follows:
| Airport | 2022 operational allocation |
| Donegal | €638,409 |
| Ireland West | €1,787,797 |
| Kerry | €1,434,355 |
| Shannon | €6,836,610 |
| Cork | €10,402,880 |
| Total allocations | €21,100,051 |
Statements
The statement published on Gov.ie quoted Minister of State Naughton as saying, “I am delighted to be announcing operational allocations of over €21 million today to Shannon, Cork, Donegal, Ireland West Airport Knock and Kerry Airports under the Regional Airports Programme. It is anticipated that this level of funding, which is 41% higher than last year’s operational funding allocation, will meet 100% of all eligible salary costs in the areas of safety, security, and air traffic control at these airports in 2022.”
Minister Naughton continued, “This funding, which is in addition to the €16.4 million in capital supports, which I announced to these airports during April, demonstrates Government’s commitment to our regional airports.”
Minister Naughton added, “Exchequer funding provided during the Covid-19 crisis, and to date in 2022, has enabled the strong recovery of traffic through our airports and, in particular, our regional airports. This is evidenced by Kerry, Ireland West Airport Knock, Cork and Shannon Airports each currently outperforming Dublin Airport in terms of a faster recovery towards the pre-Covid passenger numbers achieved in 2019. As we look forward to a strong 2023, these regional airports are currently forecasting a return of passenger numbers above 2019 levels.”
