The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, insisted last night that there was no disagreement between the Government and Aer Rianta over yesterday's Cabinet decision to proceed immediately with the provision of a rapid-turnaround facility at Dublin Airport.
The Minister was responding to a statement from the chairman of Aer Rianta, Mr Noel Hanlon, who said that the development of Pier D "might not be the correct option" for the provision of new facilities at Dublin Airport. The proposed Pier D, as designed in 1997, did not meet existing security and immigration requirements, he said.
The Minister said that she had spoken to Mr Hanlon and had also written to him regarding the Government's decision to ask Aer Rianta to provide the rapid-turnaround facility at the earliest possible date, "having particular regard to the planning permission already secured for the proposed Pier D, to meet the specific needs of all carriers operating at the lower fares end of the market".
The Cabinet authorised the Minister to closely monitor the project "so as to ensure that Aer Rianta provides the facility at the lowest possible cost, takes full account of the needs of the low fares carriers and has the facility operational in good time for the 2003 season".
It did not matter whether it was "Pier D or anything else", a spokesman for the Minister emphasised, so long as the Government's directive to build a rapid-turnaround facility without delay was implemented at Dublin Airport.
The Cabinet initiative was taken after it had reviewed the report, published yesterday, of Prof Rigas Doganis, an international aviation expert.
Aer Rianta welcomed the report's finding that there was no evidence that airport charges had had a significant effect on traffic growth or on the development of new routes and its conclusion that lower airport charges for low-cost carriers would be discriminatory.
"Aer Rianta will provide suitable facilities at Dublin Airport, the location of which will be decided by the board of Aer Rianta in conjunction with the Minister for Public Enterprise," Mr Hanlon said yesterday.
He suggested that the main challenge facing the Department of Tourism and Bord Fáilte was the need for a "focused policy" to encourage hoteliers and others to reduce their prices and develop low-cost promotions.
Aer Lingus, Ryanair and City- Jet, in their discussions with Prof Doganis, claimed that Bord Fáilte had failed to respond adequately to the negative impact resulting from the September 11th attacks on the United States and to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Britain.
The report offered little comfort to Ryanair's chief executive, Mr Michael O'Leary, who has campaigned for a special terminal at Dublin Airport in return for minimal fare charges. Mr O'Leary was not available for comment yesterday.
The Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Dr McDaid, welcomed the proposal to proceed with the new rapid-turnaround facility.