It is 40 years this year since Knock Airport opened in County Mayo. At the time, it was thought impossible to build an airport on a foggy, boggy hill but such was the determination and vision of Monsignor James Horan. Since then, it has been incredibly successful and a really key piece of infrastructure for Mayo and the west of Ireland. It is at somewhat of a crossroads at the minute. It is due to exceed 1 million passengers this year, having already handled 950,000 passengers last year. Under the regional airport support scheme, once an airport exceeds 1 million passengers, it triggers a tapering off of funding. However, this funding scheme is vitally important and has been critically important for the airport in previous years. The management team is incredibly successful and it has many more ambitions for capital infrastructure and to expand passenger numbers. My question to the Tánaiste is: what steps will he take to ensure Knock Airport is not penalised for growth? What steps will the Tánaiste take to ensure we continue to the investment in the west of Ireland? This airport is really important and I want to see it continue to be supported.

Sentiment score: 0.38