Council makes €370k advance payment to Waterford Airport

Waterford City and County Council has issued a €370,000 advance payment to Waterford Airport, an audit of the Council's annual financial report has revealed.

In a statutory local government auditor’s report by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Principal Local Government auditor, James Moran, noted that among the entities the local council has an interest in, in companies and joint ventures, is Waterford Regional Airport PLC.

Waterford Airport, whose main investor is the Bolster Group, receives regular payments from the local council; a payment of €300,000 was made to the airport from capital reserves of the Council. A further payment of €370,000 was recently advanced to the airport in 2024 in order to finance its "continued operations".

"The payments are described as advance funding, on the Council’s capital commitment to redevelopment," the auditor Mr Moran said, but noted that this investment was "not matched by similar payments from other local authorities".

"I acknowledge that the development of the airport is a strategic objective of the Council and that it has made a commitment to provide capital for the proposed runway extension."

In his response to the audit, Waterford City and County Council Chief Executive Sean McKeown said that these payments "reflect our ongoing commitment to the redevelopment of the airport as a priority project for the region."

Waterford Regional Airport is currently awaiting a judgement from the government as to whether the public coffers will match the investment into widening and lengthening the airport's runway.