Government plans to get the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) to build a new low-cost terminal at Dublin airport have been dealt a blow with new figures showing debt levels at the company rising to a record high of €384 million, writes Emmet Oliver.
The figures are contained in the annual report and accounts of the DAA for 2004, seen by The Irish Times. Such high debt levels would cause the DAA serious difficulty in the event of it winning the contract to build the new low-cost facility. Recently the DAA estimated a new terminal would cost about €300 million.
Net debt at the company has risen by 85 per cent in the last five years. Further debts are likely to accumulate from the building of a new terminal in Cork and also from an expected redundancy programme at some of the three airports.
Last week Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said he favoured asking the DAA to build the new facility, although he refused to be drawn on who might operate it.
In order to meet its obligations on existing debt and build the new terminal, the DAA would have to significantly increase airport charges. But these are currently capped by the aviation regulator.
The chairman of the company, Gary McGann, recently said his company would only be able to build the new facility for the Government if it was appropriately "remunerated". This was taken by most observers to be a reference to airport charges.
Meanwhile, ICTU general secretary David Begg has expressed strong opposition to the sale of Aer Lingus.
Mr Begg said the Government might only want to sell a stake at this stage, but ultimately it would lose all control of the company.