194 Mr. Morley asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications if he has satisfied himself that the current landing fees charged by Aer Rianta are justified in view of its monopoly in this field and the desirability of reducing those fees in the national interest. [5369/97]

Aer Rianta's basic charges to airlines at Dublin, Shannon and Cork Airports have remained unchanged since April 1987. The company introduced discounts in these charges with effect from 1 January 1994, with the objective of stimulating traffic growth on existing and new routes. Similar discount schemes have been put in place on an annual basis since 1994. An important element of the new 1997 scheme is its rolling five year nature which will assist airlines in their route development planning.