The Government has played down suggestions of a change in policy between Transport Minister Martin Cullen and his predecessor, Séamus Brennan, on the Cork airport debt row, the day before a new €160 million terminal opens.
The 25,000 sq m building, designed to cater for three million passengers a year and with the capacity to deal with five million, opens tomorrow.
Minister for Finance Brian Cowen and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin expressed confidence that the issue of who pays for the building will be resolved before September.
Former minister Mr Brennan pledged in July 2003 that all contractual arrangements involving Aer Rianta would be transferred to the Dublin Airport Authority when Cork, Dublin and Shannon airports were split up and made independent entities.
The implication of the pledge was that Cork Airport Authority would start out debt-free, and would not be burdened with the cost of the new terminal.
However, Mr Cullen has refused to make any such commitment.
Mr Cullen said earlier this month in Cork that the Government could not look at Cork's airport debt in isolation and would have to decide who pays for the terminal in the context of what was best for the three airports.
"The debt has to be somewhere and we have to have development at Shannon and at Dublin as well. So what we have to make sure is that Cork is strong and commercially viable going into the future and I intend to see that through," said Mr Cullen.
But speaking in Cork at the weekend, Mr Martin strongly defended Mr Brennan's handling of the issue, saying that were it not for Mr Brennan's initiative in deciding to break up Aer Rianta, Cork would not have got its new terminal building.
"We wouldn't have a terminal if it wasn't for Séamus Brennan - he took the bit between the teeth and he went for it. He had to get sanction to raise the borrowing capacity of Aer Rianta substantially at the time and he got financial backing for the new terminal."
Mr Cullen appointed consultants BDO Simpson Xavier to look at the debt issue and their report is being assessed by advisers Price Waterhouse Cooper. Mr Martin said he expected that the issue of who pays what will be resolved by September.
Meanwhile, amid fears that Cork Airport Authority will have to raise airport charges to meet the cost of the new terminal, Mr Cowen pointed out that it should be remembered that the aviation regulator would have a say on any such increase.
"Cork airport is a thriving airport - it will continue to be a thriving airport when it gets its own autonomy and these matters will be resolved satisfactorily and it will continue to get on with its business and continue to be a major economic driver for the region," he said.
Construction began in mid-2003. The terminal was originally scheduled to open in late 2005 but this was repeatedly delayed.
Earlier this month, Cork airport's general manager, Pat Keohane, told Cork's 96FM that the new building would be worth the wait, and would be fully operational by the end of August.
"The plan we are looking at with the support of the airlines and the ground handlers is a phased transfer which would see arrivals coming up and running initially, and then, following on from that, departures, possibly a couple of weeks later," he said.
"I believe that anybody that comes through the facility cannot be failed to impressed by the new building. It's a magnificent building - nothing like it on the island of Ireland and it can compete effectively with any airport anywhere in the world."
