Waterford Airport.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121987193#Comment_121987193

…do we really want a significant amount of our critical infrastructure to be foreign owned, as it seems to be working well for many not so well developed countries!

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121992200#Comment_121992200

It was tongue and cheek, but probably the only way to get these kind of infrastructure projects built in Waterford is either local or foreign investment.

Waiting on government means we are still talking about this project.

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121992418#Comment_121992418

yea we re kinna in a bind, governments have been severely curtailed in being able to finance such critical infrastructure, deficit spending etc, or lack of, this is forcing us towards methods such as foreign investment which is causing its own set of problems. foreign investment plays a critical role, and can be positive for everyone, but sometimes, too much is simply that, i am very concerned about how we re all being effectively forced into this approach for our critical needs, was only listening to a podcast about this financialisation of our economies recently, and the operations of the institutions behind it, disturbing stuff really….

invara

Covney going might make the airport a tiny bit easier? He loved Cork Airport (around 50% of his twitter feed).

But Leo was the only person to make positive noises over Waterford airport.

Honestly, think it is not going to happen with this cabinet. Ryan will sit on it, and until he is bought off at cabinet by a green project, hard to see this cabinet going to the plate to bring the Greens on board. And even if it gets out of Transport, off to DPER where Pascal will kill it.

Bad sign that Matt Shanahan did not vote for Goverment, he must have raised it, amongst other things and not liked what he heard.

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122000537#Comment_122000537

I thought the same, surely is Harris committed to one of the following options 24/7 cardiac care, SETU or airport then Shanahan would have gabe support.

The airport will be used as a carrot for the next election and will disappear once again!

dan575283578

Forgive my ignorance but why would it disappear? weve got the 12 million from investors, govt will give other 12m to look good for election, and then the actual work can crack on, no?

914

Disappear as it the new government will go silent on it, news articles will stop reporting on it and then it will pop up again depending who the flavour of the day is.

I don't mean the airport disappearing as in ceasing operations

Wanderer78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122002600#Comment_122002600

strangly enough, politicians and governments bullsh1t, all of them do…..

savic04

Not going to happen under this gov in next 12 months

Dum_Dum_2

Week 17. Government still keeping family and friends apart. Government still stifling prosperity in the region.

nomoedoe

Front page of the paper today saying the government are paying out 1 million a month to accommodate pets for Ukrainians ,and here we are cant even get 12 million to support an airport.

Valhalla90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122004914#Comment_122004914

puts it into context!

Dum_Dum_2

Week 18. Silence*

*this is how it dies as per Government rule book.

ExoPolitic

I know we're not getting the extension, it's sat at the same stage for years, skillfully pushed down the line for the next government, every government…

dan575283578

there's an election coming up soon though so the government may take this as an opportunity to look good in the se region

Valhalla90

maybe our Green TD could see if Ryan is asleep! That could be the delay.

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122031426#Comment_122031426

In the run up to the election looking good will be "we support the extension at Waterford airport and we are close to delivering it" once the election passes so does the empty promises.

They have had 14 years to invest in the airport, they could have competed the whole works without private investment for a fraction of what it is going to cost government now.

If the private investment is there then the airport need to call their bluff and just start work, start one end of the extension or start widening one side of the runway, start some sort of work then we can harp onto government that we put out money where our mouth is so cough up

Dum_Dum_2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122031464#Comment_122031464

The modus of Irish party politics is to set up the fall guy and blame them. I wouldn't be allowing them to shirk responsibility by singling out the Greens. FF/FG chose to get into bed with each other and the eco-zealots and now all of them are choosing to hold us back regarding the runway. They would just love for everyone to join in the finger pointing.

Their sycophants on social media (including here) bang on about the 'ball being in someone else's court". So it's the Comer's fault about the Airport, it Harcourt's fault about the North Quays, it's poor financial management at WIT etc. etc. It's never them. Well I don't pay taxes to the Comer's or Harcourt I pay the Government. And I want my cut. Collecting my money and always spending somewhere else for decades is not how things work.

dan575283578

https://www.wlrfm.com/news/waterford-airport-fragility-357027

Not looking good

Dum_Dum_2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122054267#Comment_122054267

Not our problem. The Government made a mistake by stalling, now they have account for their stupidity as to why the taxpayer has to pay more. But we must absolutely get our cut.

What's the Departments Plan B?. Have they scoped alternative sites? Or do they just sit back and watch it all fall apart? The only region and population centre in the whole State without access to mass aviation, they need to fix it and make it right.

Cosmo Kramer

27 million now before a plane lands or takes off. Would likely be millions more again by the time it's actually done. And no doubt millions more every year on top of that to keep the place functioning going forward.

Doesn't sound like the Council's CEO actually wants any part in it either. Probably knows it's nothing more than a white elephant.

Plan B is the bin the whole thing is about to get thrown in.

Fathom

Cmod: Dum_Dum_2 please be advised that your ad hominem post against one of our members breaks the site’s charter as well as most forums. In FAQs attack the post, not the poster. This is a warning, and if you continue to post like this in the future, you may be carded or banned depending upon the circumstances accordingly.

Valhalla90

As I have posted here before the country is awash with money for NGOs,people claiming asylum, their pets also…. yet they will deny us this piece of infrastructure on the basis of it costing 27million yet the airport is making a loss yearly of 300k why not at least turn the tide of some sort and give the region better connectivity that will bring in employment etc. The answer is we are not Dublin or Cork so we don’t matter. Remember this come Election Day. Fine Gael,Fianna Fail & The Greens are all part of this problem.

914

Lets remember only 50% of the cost is required from government, that's €13 million, it's still small change.

Back in 06/07 the government committed to €27 million to develop the whole lot as part of the NDP so its not half the cost for government now!

Yes the airport would need funding year on year which would become less as the airport begin to hit 300k passengers which I believe is a realistic passenger figure, we saw the airport handled over 100k passengers year on year in the naughties with limited aircraft and expensive fares.

While you wouldn't expected 300k passengers in the first few years of operations but would expect the airport to reach that target.

Talks of it being a white elephant when it is already home to R117, Waterford aero club, Atlantic flight training school and private aircraft makes the white elephant argument null and void.

decies

If Cullen hadn’t got us the motorway could you imagine hoping the current lot locally and nationally would deliver it ?

Dunmoreroader

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122055867#Comment_122055867

300,000 p.a. = 822 per day = 6 to 8 flights per day = 3 to 4 landing and 3 to 4 taking off. Of course it's doable.

Kerry handled 414,571 last year. Here's their current timetable that doesn't look miles off what Waterford was doing at its peak back in the day, apart from the Ryanair flights to Dublin; https://kerryairport.ie/website/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Kerry-Airport-Summer-Departures-2024-Timetable-1.pdf

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122057252#Comment_122057252

Yep that's it. If the government put away €1 million per year since getting into power, pre COVID with that €1 million a year they could have funded the whole project, that is how little money we are talking about, even now they would have their 50% share covered!

spaceCreated

Promise-delay-promise-delay-promise-delay- now its too expensive

Seen this happen time and again when it comes to Waterford

spaceCreated

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122056002#Comment_122056002

Hated in Kilkenny for… getting them a motorway and a rebuilt Nolan park. Meanwhile Phil Hogan is adored for moving the "undesirables" to Ferrybank.

Pity Cullen didnt stick around probably would have an airport, university and a sensible South East health area by now.

Rustyman101

Current Goverment dont give a toss about Waterford, I'd include our SF friends in that as well.

Not sure where we as an electorate go from here to be honest.

it's the same can kicking exercise for ever ****** project mentioned in Waterford.

It's sickening to see the amounts of cash being doled out at the moment.

Yet mention infrastructure project in Waterford there has to review after review.

Mary KK , Marc o somebody & Up the ra take a bow !