Dublin airport has long been synonymous with chaos and congestion. With more than 22 million passengers using it on an annual basis, as well as millions of "meeters and greeters", the State's principal airport is massively overcrowded, mainly because its growth as a hub for air travel over the past decade or more was not anticipated and, therefore, not planned for. That explains why passengers have had to trudge out through an endless string of temporary cabins to reach the more remote departure gates - and will still face a similarly long trek to the furthest gates of Pier D when it finally opens for business.
Most airports have faced the need for further expansion, with more and more people availing of cheaper flights to take to the air. In many cases, such as Milan and Munich, decisions were made to cater for this burgeoning demand by building new airports further away from the cities they serve. Such a solution ought to have been considered for Dublin, instead of permitting Aer Rianta and its successor, the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), to aggrandise the existing airport at Collinstown, merely because that is where it has been located since the original terminal and runway were built in 1939.
When Bord na Móna suggested that a new airport for the Dublin area could be built on cutaway bog somewhere near Portarlington, conveniently located to both the main rail and motorway networks, the proposal was never seriously entertained. In the Dáil on 22 June 2005, in reply to questions regarding the proposed new runway at Dublin Airport, then minister for transport Martin Cullen said: "I have no proposal to commission any study of alternative options for the provision of airport capacity to serve the greater Dublin Area. Subject to planning permission, it is envisaged that the DAA will provide such capacity through the expansion of existing facilities and infrastructure at Dublin Airport".
This head-in-the-sand approach left the DAA to get on with its own masterplan for doubling the capacity of the existing airport, including a new terminal building and second main runway, both of which were backed by Fingal County Council for whom the airport complex is the most significant money-spinner in generating commercial rates revenue. The cost of implementing the overall masterplan is estimated at €2 billion, of which Terminal 2 alone accounts for over €600 million. Yet, as opponents of the airport's expansion have pointed out, not one element of the masterplan has been subjected to rigorous cost-benefit analysis, as required by Department of Finance guidelines for all capital projects costing more than €30 million.
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.