Ratepayers to invest 73m in knock airport

MAYO County Council has made history by becoming the first local authority in the region to approve the purchase of a 17.5 per cent equity share in Ireland West Airport Knock (IWAK).

Members also approved the raising of a €7.3 million loan to facilitate the equity purchase.

Other local authorities in the west and northwest - seven in total - are also expected to make a significant investment and become part owners of the Co. Mayo airport in order to erase a €9 million debt and secure its future.

They are Sligo County Council, Galway County Council, Galway City Council, Leitrim County Council and Donegal County Council.

Joanne Grehan, head of Mayo County Council’s Enterprise and Investment Unit, briefed members on the investment and loan proposals at the April statutory meeting. Afterwards both proposals were unanimously carried.

Peter Hynes, chief executive, commended councillors for their decision on what he described as one of the most fundamentally important proposals ever to come before the authority.

He explained that Mayo was the first local authority involved to sit down and agree on the equity decision.

Mayo County Council was taking the larger chunk of the burden, the chief executive stated, but rightly so.

Mr. Hynes said he had been apolitical in his role but he had to acknowledge the support of the office of the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, in bringing the equity deal about.

The cathaoirleach, Councillor Damian Ryan, said the authority had no option but to make the decision ‘because of the serious impact not doing so could have for our county’.

Towards the end of the session, responding to a question, Ms. Grehan explained that the €10 tariff on every passenger going through the airport would remain despite the new stakeholding.

That money was ‘part of the cashflow’, Ms. Grehan stated.