Tánaiste: ‘If I had my way, I would prefer Derry to also have an air connection’

He made the remarks after Donegal TD Pearse Doherty raised concerns the cap on passengers at Dublin Airport would negatively impact the service from Carrickfinn to the capital.

"I will raise the very serious matter of the Donegal-Dublin flight with the Tánaiste. It is the State's only public service obligation air service. It has that status because Donegal has no motorway and no rail connection and because of its remoteness.

"The airline operating the service has been told it has to reduce its passenger numbers by 5 per cent. The chairperson of the airline has said that this brings the viability of the service into question.

"The service is vital not just for tourism and business but also for the 430 cancer patients who currently use the service to access treatment in Dublin. This is Ireland's only public service obligation flight.

"Surely, the passenger cap should not apply to a public service obligation service. I ask the Government to make that clear to the relevant authorities,” Deputy Doherty said on Thursday.

The Tánaiste said he agreed with the Sinn Féin TD.

“That has to stop. We need regional connectivity. The north west particularly suffers from a lack of connectivity by rail and by road, because of the A5 debate.

"We have to keep the air links to the north west open. If I had my way, I would prefer Derry to also have an air connection. This is something that can and needs to be sorted,” he said.

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