THE TRANSPORT MINISTER Leo Varadkar has said that a decision to cut funding to Galway and Sligo airports is final.
The airport at Galway is now at real risk of closure in the wake of the decision to pull funding, according to managing director Joe Walsh. The future of 180 jobs at the airport also hangs in the balance.
Speaking on RTE radio this morning Walsh said that the decision is “hugely disappointing” and that it has a major impact on the confidence associated with the airport. He said it was based on a “flawed review report” which had been rejected by the last cabinet in February, and said that it demonstrated a lack of joined-up thinking on the part of the government.
The transport minister has defended the decision to allocate funding to regional airports at Donegal, Knock Ireland West, Kerry and Waterford, but not to Sligo and Galway, saying it was a difficult and unavoidable one, and that it will not be reversed.
The funding will be pulled from Sligo and Galway airports from the end of the year. Managing director at Sligo Joe Corcoran has said that he’s confident the facility will pull through.
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