Waterford Airport.

there have been about a decades worth or reports and discussion on this project.

That would be a devastating policy for any small country such as ours with one hub airport. It's scale at one location that opens up more destinations and economies of scale, We are not Germany, we have one medium sized city and airport, diluting that into pissy regional airports near large towns would limit us to a few regional flights to the UK and northern France. The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Iceland etc. all follow this model because they're not stupid, they know they are not Germany, France or the UK.

You can't keep expanding Dublin pax without adding necessary infrastructure such as heavy rail direct from the regional cities of Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.. Metro North is not the solution for the regions.. Dublín airport is physically located in the wrong place to service the country as it is north of the city without heavy rail access.. We all know that the M50 is like a car park during peak hours.

Choices are in order of preference

1.)Spend on heavy rail (Hourly departures from Regional cities) with spur from Heuston to Dublin Airport and use existing airport in Dublin to cater for growing population.. This is what advanced economies do

2.)Open new airport near kilcullen / Kikdare where m7 (M8) /m9 merge with heavy rail access servicing most of the population centers in the country

3.) Invest in regional airports

Amazing that we have to constantly fight the argument for balanced regional development. It’s not going to be an international airport on the scale of Heathrow. It will give our region connectivity to UK/Europe that we currently don’t have but all other regions in the country do. How is that fair?

The airport isn't closed, just no airlines want to use it. As you say there is no guarantee an extension will change that.

What if no other airline attempts to do so

From day 1, the location of Waterford Airport between Cork and Dublin, meant that only a jet length runway could be competitive. Had it originally had that advantage, Irish aviation history and Ryanair might be vastly different.

not true

you are applying perfect hindsight using modern aviation norms .

now if the planners back in the 80' s had a crystal ball and built a "jet" capable runway it would be brilliant.

but it was planned for and built for the "expected" operating types that that might use it. F27/50, Shorts 330/360, etc.

”Awash with cash” was the phrase used on morning Ireland in relation to the Finance Minister’s current pre election / pre budget situation.

He wants to see progress on infrastructure.

I think it’s disingenuous at the moment for any politician or unbiased observer to point away from an obvious plan to stifle.

…we have to stop thinking ireland is poorer than we actually are, this isnt the ireland of the 70's and 80's, we re in a radically different place now, we have to start spending on major projects, or we will return to the 70's and 80's, we will lose fdi if we dont do this, we clearly urgently need to sort out housing, transport infrastructure and other major needs….

ah shur when you re good, you re good, makes sense though, but disturbingly, our policy makers are stuck in this 70's/80's mentality….

Raised in the Dáil.. again..

Absolutely agree, and before anyone says anything about concentrating on the issue ie the airport, It is obviously impossible to seperate politcis from our airport project. Mary Butler is a terrible TD and has wasted four years opportunity, Marc O'Cathasaigh is silent, John Cummins is desperate for Fine Gael, he simply seems unable to grasp what that party has done to Waterford, David Cullinane with 20,000 local votes has abused that vote for his party's sake by staying quiet. I was never more disappointed in anyone.

Love him or hate him, Shanahan has laid it out for what it is and God its pretty awful.

Harris, Martin and Ryan the axis of evil as far as Waterford is concerned.

Don’t give Waterford a university.. the Waterford students won’t come come to Cork or Dublin to study and subsequently stay to work.

Don’t give Waterford an effective health care centre with the associated budget.. it’ll stop Waterford patients being treated in Cork/Dublin hospitals. (A family member with cancer was required to go to cork for initial diagnosis after screening and was only treated in Waterford when it was specifically requested. It was just expected they’d travel up and down for pre treatment, surgery and post treatment)

Don’t give Waterford people an airport.. It’ll stop Waterford citizens from having to travel to Cork or Dublin airport.

Our citizenship is being consumed as a means of nourishing other cities. Our entitlement to a reasonable proportion of state investment has been, from my vantage point, traded by many of our representatives over many years in favour of party and other city allegiances.

Do you actually think Dublin people want non-Dublin patients clogging up their hospitals even worse? That makes no sense at all.