The operator of Dublin airport is to re-lodge a planning application with Fingal County Council (FCC) to increase the airport capacity to 36 million passengers a year in the coming days.
In a statutory planning notice published today concerning its Operational Application (OA), daa state that no works are proposed for the Dublin airport site as part of the planning application.
In a statement today, the daa said it will resubmit the Operational Application (OA) this week "having reviewed FCC's feedback and taken this into account".
A daa spokeswoman said: "We look forward to engaging further with FCC as the application progresses. Resolving the Dublin Airport terminals passenger cap is critical to our economy and connectivity".
"This was recognised in the Programme of Government, which commits to working with all stakeholders to achieve the objective of lifting the passenger cap at Dublin Airport as soon as possible," she said.
"We hope the OA can now move swiftly through the planning process and provide a short-term solution to the terminals cap impasse impacting Ireland's connectivity, tourism and economy," she added.
Daa first lodged its application to increase its passenger numbers to 36 million in December but the application was invalidated by Fingal County Council last month.
The Council said it invalidated the application as it failed to comply with three separate articles of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001.
The Council also stated that ot invalided the application as the proposed description of the development in the public notices was non-compliant with the relevant regulations and was inadequate and misleading.
This prompted an angry reaction from daa with a spokesman stating at the time that daa was "baffled and bewildered by this bizarre flip-flop by Fingal County Council".
"'Snakes and Ladders' approach to planning shows why decisions about Dublin Airport should be made at a national level by An Bord Pleanála and not locally by Fingal County Council," a spokesperson said.
Consultants for daa, Coakley O’Neill, state that what the OA application seeks to achieve is permission for a modest uplift in passenger growth - as quickly and simply as possible - in the national interest.
In a planning document lodged with the Council, they state that with passenger numbers forecasted to reach 40 million passengers a year by 2030, "the sustainable growth of the airport is paramount".
The airport’s current contentious passenger cap is 32 million passengers a year and Coakley O'Neill stated that if permitted "the proposal will go some way towards meeting demand for global connectivity that already exists, facilitate inward bound tourism and business and, in turn, support economic activity and social connections that are so important to our national wellbeing."
Fingal Co Council is currently evaluating a separate daa Infrastructure Application (IA) seeking an increase to 40 million passengers a year and Coakley O’Neill admit that "it is likely that the IA will be in the planning process for some time".
Coakley O’Neill state that while daa remains committed to the implementation of the IA application, "there is, nevertheless, a pressing need for the airport, as Ireland's national airport, to be in a position, in the short-term, to compete with other international hub airports of scale for new routes and connections, for the benefit of the country as a whole, by way of an uplift in passenger throughput".
The consultants state that the existing infrastructure at Dublin airport can facilitate the proposed increase in passenger numbers to 36 million passengers a year "without requiring physical works and without compromising on the quality of service".
The 44 page Coakley O’Neill report states that the proposed development "will not compromise the ability of the airport to expand to 55 million passengers per annum passenger throughput at some point in the future, including the provision of a third terminal, if required and supported by sectoral and planning policy then prevailing".
The report states that overall "the proposed OA is in the interests of the proper planning and sustainable development to protect and enhance the airport as a national strategic infrastructure asset for the benefit of the country as a whole, and to enable it to compete with other international hub airports of scale for new routes and connections".
"The proposed uplift in passenger numbers has been assessed against key environmental metrics, including aviation noise and traffic, to demonstrate that the proposed development is in line with applicable planning and aviation policy, and that there are no significant environmental effects," it adds.
The report also states that the proposed increase in passengers is required to maximise the use of the significant investment already made in existing airport infrastructure including the North Runway and to contribute to further growth in aviation employment and secure additional economic benefits for the country.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
