THE Minister for Transport Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD announced today that he is to retain the Public Service Obligation (PSO) on the Kerry-Dublin route.
The PSO is vital to the existence of the daily service to and from the capital.
The current PSO contract expires in January and the new contract will operate from February 1 2015 until January 31 2017. There will be the option to extend the contract by a full year, depending on a satisfactory review.
Management and staff at Kerry Airport have welcomed today’s announcement.
The Chairman of Kerry Airport, Denis Cregan, said: “The continuation of the PSO-aided service is of vital importance to the county and in particular for maintaining the vital link of the County to the Capital for business and tourism interests. The retention of the service has been achieved due to steady increase in passenger numbers on the route over the past 12 months and an expectation of further growth in volumes into 2015. We are grateful for the support of the business and tourism sectors throughout Kerry and the proactive stance taken by the county’s public representatives in the Dáil as their combined efforts played a key role in influencing the Minister’s decision.”
“The continuance of the PSO is of utmost importance to the local industry and tourist interests and the value to the county is well known and understood by all who have used these services over the past 10 years,” said Denis Cregan.
Following an EU public tendering process the Minister announced that Stobart Air has been successful in securing the tender to provide scheduled air services on the the routes, subject to a contract being put in place.
Kerry Airport and Donegal Airport (which also saw its PSO retained) are the most remote of the regional airport network from Dublin and continuation of the PSO air services promotes balanced regional development for those areas.
“So many people in Kerry depend on this route every day for business,” said Senator Marie Moloney, welcoming the news. “To be able to travel up and back to Dublin each day is vital to our local businesses. Many international tourists fly into Dublin airport and get a connecting flight to Kerry. This is a key factor for supporting this service, as Kerry is so dependent on a vibrant tourism industry. Affordable ease of access in and out of Kerry is a must for our recovering economy.”
