MEP invites new Transport Minister to meet on runway of Waterford Airport
Ní Mhurchú has invited the new Transport Minister to meet her on the runway of Waterford Airport.
Ireland South MEP and member of the EU Transport Committee, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, has called on the new Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien to meet her on the runway of Waterford Airport in an effort to see the airport in operation again by summer 2026.
“The keys to the airport are in the hands of the new Minister and I will be making my position known to them, loud and clear. I hope they will join me on the runway in Waterford airport to see for themselves the potential that exists for the South East region,” said Ms Ní Mhurchú.
“I am now calling on all politicians, from all parties, to work to put pressure on the incoming Minister for Transport, whoever that may be, to progress the investment that is on the table at Waterford airport," she said, noting that she plans to meet with executives from Ryanair as well as inviting senior people in Ryanair to meet with executives at Waterford airport in the coming months.
With Dublin Airport running into challenges with the council-agreed passenger cap, Ms Ní Mhurcú identified that "now is the time to strike as Dublin airport is turning away flights. A newly reopened Waterford airport could benefit from this crisis at Dublin airport".
Ní Mhurchú said the departure of former Minister Eamon Ryan from the Department of Transport is a welcome opportunity to reinvest in our regional airports, like Waterford: “I have little doubt that much of the resistance to funding Waterford airport came from an ideological position taken by Eamon Ryan.”
The Ireland South MEP praised the chief investor into Waterford Airport William Bolster for his commitment to the development project and said that she welcomed the recent advance payment of €370,000 by Waterford City and County Council to the airport, as recently reported by Waterford News & Star. (See story here)
The MEP said that the payment was part of the Council's continuing capital commitment to the proposed runway extension at the airport and highlighted the impact it would have in driving investment, job creation and greater interconnectivity between the South East and Europe.
