103. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Transport his views on the business case submitted by Waterford Airport following the completion of his Department’s review of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42072/24]

As the Deputy is aware my Department has undertaken a detailed appraisal of the development proposal put forward by Waterford Airport. This appraisal has included the assessment of significant documentation and responses to queries raised by Department officials and addressed by the airport up until 17 July. This level of appraisal is necessary to ensure that due diligence is exercised in accordance with my Department’s “Transport Appraisal Framework” and the Government’s “Infrastructure Guidelines” (previously known as the Public Spending Code).

The Transport Appraisal Framework requires that in the transport sector, where the proposal has an estimated potential cost of €15m or more, the Sponsoring Agency (in this case Waterford Airport) must produce a Project Outline Document, to be reviewed by the relevant Approving Authority (in this case the Department of Transport). The purpose of the Project Outline Document is to outline the rationale for an intervention and the intended impacts; verify the alignment of the proposal with wider government strategy and policy; and describe the appraisal, governance, and financial approach.

My Department has completed its assessment of the detail submitted by Waterford Airport in line with the Project Outline Document requirements. This assessment was recently submitted to both Minister Ryan and I for our consideration.

I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that any future investment would need to be contingent on significant, evidence based, demonstration that sufficient demand exists for Waterford Airport to be a viable facility for regular scheduled passenger services. It also needs to be recognised that other airports in the near vicinity and shared catchment, which are already well established, can support connectivity to the South East.

While the processes governing capital investment projects are onerous and rigorous and may take considerable periods of time to execute to the required standards, it is important to note that Waterford Airport is currently in a position to operate scheduled passenger services without any major runway extension. The Deputy will be aware that the existing runway can facilitate propeller plane services which are successfully operated at other airports currently, including for example, on services operating out of Donegal, Kerry and Dublin airports to the UK and France.

I would be happy to update the Deputy further when both Minister Ryan and I have given these matters and the assessment our full consideration and when next steps have been determined. Until that time, I reserve an open mind on the matter.