This warning comes from chairman of the Shannon Conference and Sports Bureau, Tony Brazil, who believes it will be impossible to exercise a privatisation option unless the affairs of the airport are made more transparent. ”If you were to buy a corner sweet shop you would be given a chance to examine the books and find out about the business as no business person worth their salt is going to buy into something they have no information about,”
Mr Brazil, who is also managing director of Limerick Travel, told the Limerick Post.
Consultants, Booz & Co., were brought in earlier this month by Transport Minister, Leo Varadkar, with the brief of consulting as widely as possible with all the stakeholders in the airport.
But Mr Brazil said it will be a difficult task for them to research the situation, discover what is needed to stem loses of €8 million this year and to get the input of all those who have a direct interest in the future of the airport.
Speaking to the Limerick Post, he voiced concern that the short window for research will not “give due time and diligence,” to the process.
“The airport is a vital piece of infrastructure. It is the lighthouse for this region, bringing passengers and prosperity – we won’t throw in the towel and accept something that won’t work”.
Asked about the €8 million airport losses mentioned by the minister when he visited the region to announce tourism grants last week, Mr Brazil said the question to be asked is what are those losses made up of?
“Is that actually a one or two million operating loss with depreciation on top of that? We don’t know what the figures are or how money could be saved”.
At the time of speaking, Mr Brazil said that he hoped to have the Sports and Conference Bureau meet with the consultants, but no firm arrangement had been made.
“World beating things have happened at Shannon. We have come through rough times in the past. What is needed is firm leadership. People want things to change at the airport but they also want to have some say in what is happening,” Mr Brazil concluded.
