Letter to Irish Times 24 Oct 2006

Dublin Airport Development

-- Madam, - Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is "broadly supportive" of the Progressive Democrats' proposal to relocate Dublin Port to Bremore, near Balbriggan in north Co Dublin, and develop the old port site "Manhattan-style" (The Irish Times, October 21st).

This proposal has economic merit: land at Dublin Port is too valuable to continue to be used for port activities. According to the PDs, the 660 acres involved, worth a staggering €30 million an acre, could be put to better use for housing and commercial activities. At the same time, much cheaper land is available for port development at Bremore. But why is what is good for seaports not also good for airports? Does the reigning coalition only "do" seaports? The value of some 840 acres of publicly owned land at Dublin airport that will be used up by the proposed new parallel runway has been ignored in the consideration of the merits of that proposal. It is worth a comparatively modest €2 million an acre. If
an alternative site for any needed airport development were chosen, this land,not needed for a runway, could also be put to much better use. Rushing ahead with the current proposal will waste at least €3 billion, whereas an alternative, such as a second airport serving the greater Dublin area, built on available cheap land, would be a solid investment option and a boon to adjacent regions.

The frenetic and unsustainable growth at Dublin airport is driven by a hidden subsidy because passenger charges at Dublin airport do not include a real cost for the use of the very valuable public land it occupies.

The aviation regulator values all the 2,500 acres at Dublin airport at less than €20 million. Subsidies create distortions, some of which are evident to anybody battling the queues at Dublin airport or trying to get to and from those queues on the congested road network around it.

If this runway goes ahead and annual passenger numbers go from the current 20 million to a planned 60 million, the chaos will treble. -
Yours, etc,