The Government has been asked to consider a “high speed bus network” for the Shannon catchment area as part of a strategy to wrest aircraft traffic from Dublin Airport.
In a letter outlining the need for a fundamental rethink of aviation policy across the island, Shannon Airport Group chief executive Mary Considine also argued the west of Ireland terminal would probably see a rail link before the capital.
In a “Seven Supporting Arguments” document presented by Ms Considine at the outset of the new Dáil, she said that the impasse around Dublin’s 32 million annual passenger cap had become a distraction from a broader debate on regional expansion and sustainability.
“One assumption that should be challenged is that Ireland has an aviation and airports policy that is fit-for-purpose. We do not,” she wrote in a letter seeking a significant reassessment as part of the programme for government.
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“Whatever the future holds, a planning decision on the Dublin [Airport passenger] cap is at least two years away. There is a better chance there will be a rail connection to Shannon before one arrives at Dublin Airport.”
Minister of Transport Darragh O’Brien has been holding a series of stakeholder meetings in recent weeks as the Government prepares to renew its ten year National Aviation Policy, with a draft anticipated in early 2026.
This has opened the door for critics of the Dublin Airport cap of 32 million passengers a year and, simultaneously, those who would have it upheld, to argue their position. DAA, which runs Dublin and Cork airports, has been fighting to have the curtailment extended by way of a slow-moving planning process.
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A separate regional airports programme running from 2026 to 2030 is also under development and is expected later this year.
A Department of Transport spokesman said that following the latter’s completion and to “support growth in connectivity and strategic route development to and from the regions, the department will be engaging with the market to consider the potential for the development of an exchequer-funded start-up aid scheme to support new routes”.
How this would work in practice is not yet known, but it would likely be a welcome signal of intent from a Government that has also committed to ending the Dublin cap.
In her submission to the new Government last January, a copy of which was obtained under Freedom of Information, Ms Considine argued for sustainable growth across all State airports and an approach that “fully utilises capacity in the regions” and to reduce “overreliance” on Dublin which accommodates about 86 per cent of traffic.
“Public policy needs to align with where passengers want to go, what economic development, including regional development, requires in future, how decarbonisation is best achieved, and where there is substantial additional capacity now,” Ms Considine wrote.
She said an immediately available additional capacity for five million annual passengers between the south (Cork) and west (Shannon) was being “ignored” even though 40 per cent of passengers wish to travel to the regions.
Given an exponential growth in air traffic, she argued, leaning on one airport “creates a single point of risk that is reckless”. She also raised the threat to national security of cyberattacks and sabotage.
“Prudence and safety require that we avoid almost complete reliance on one State airport for connectivity, with the consequent logistical and reputational issues that would arise were our air traffic to be virtually grounded.”
The document suggested the Government consider the London model where Gatwick, Stansted and Luton airports alleviate pressure on Heathrow. Flying from Shannon instead of Dublin, it said, results in a 4.6kg reduction on road based CO₂ emissions per passenger.
