Further investment of €1.86m. confirmed for Ireland West Airport Knock

THE Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring, has announced that the government is to invest a further €1,868,000 in Ireland West Airport Airport Knock.

The funding is part of a €3.6 million Regional Airports Programme funding package announced by Minister for Transport, Sport and Tourism, Shane Ross TD today.

Minister Ring said: “I cannot overstate the significance of this funding in terms of the impact it will have on our airport and as a clear sign of the government’s long term commitment to Knock.

“That Ireland West Airport Knock received over half of the government funding announced today illustrates the priority being placed by the government on Knock as an important regional airport for the future.

“Of the three regional airports which were allocated a combined €3.6 million today, it is significant that Knock got more than Kerry and Donegal airports combined.

“I have worked closely with Minister Ross to ensure continued government investment in Ireland West Airport Knock and I commend him for ensuring this support for our local airport. It is an international gateway to the west of Ireland and is extremely well placed strategically.

“This bodes extremely well in terms of our ability to attract tourists and businesses to Mayo and the West for the future.”

This allocation is on top of capital grants of more than €1.9 million which have already been disbursed to these airports bringing the total grant funding this year under the Regional Airports Programme to €5.5 million.

The Regional Airports Programme supports necessary safety and security investments and activities by these airports to enable them to continue to contribute to enhanced regional connectivity for businesses and tourism.

The Review of the Capital Plan that was announced in September by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform identified the need for continued support for this Programme.

The review of the Capital Plan yielded over €17 million in additional capital funding for the Regional Airports Programme over the period 2019 to 2021, considerably in excess of the €10 million in extra funding that was originally mooted in the Programme for Government.