Madam, - Vincent Wall of the Dublin Airport Authority tells us (September 12th) that the DAA will shortly begin work on Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport shortly.
I would point out to Mr Wall that work should not start until the project has been shown to conform to the Government's value for money guidelines, which for projects costing over €30 million require a cost-benefit analysis. These guidelines are reiterated in the Programme for Government of 2007 and reinforced regarding the environmental costs of transport projects.
I would refer him to your own Editorial of August 30th, where you say: "Even though An Bord Pleanála has now granted planning permission for the second runway and the first phase of Terminal 2, it must still be a matter for the Government - not least as the DAA's principal shareholder - to ensure that these very expensive capital projects are subjected to proper scrutiny to ensure that what's being planned is in the public interest."
The same guidelines also say that, following planning permission, "the implications of any conditions attaching to the planning permission should be fully assessed, going so far, if warranted, as to consider whether the project should be abandoned."
The 30 conditions attached to the Terminal 2 permission by An Bord Pleanála could significantly alter the economics of the terminal. Of course, as you also pointed out that the required cost-benefit analysis was not done before planning permission was sought, this analysis now has to be done from scratch. - Yours, etc,
MATTHEW HARLEY, Portmarnock Community Association, Martello Court, Portmarnock, Co Dublin.