THE Northern Ireland Executive will take over the costs of running City of Derry Airport, the economy minister has said.
Updating MLAs on a "new approach to economic development" during a meeting of the Northern Ireland Assembly earlier this week, Conor Murphy said his department is "in the process of taking responsibility" for the funding provided to the airport by Derry City and Strabane Council.
Currently, the airport, which is owned by the council, costs around £3.45m a year to run
Mr Murphy said taking that funding responsibility away from the local authority would allow it to invest its finances in other areas.
"It is our intention in terms of the airport's strategic, regional, economic presence and what that means for the north west generally that the Department of Economy (DfE) assumes responsibility for that,” he said.
Economy Minister Conor Murphy"We need to work through the arrangements for all that,” he added.
"That would lift that burden that the ratepayers of Derry City and Strabane Council have been carrying on their own, even though the airport serves other council areas and other geographical areas as well, so it is and, of course, that will, in turn, allow the council to use that money for other purposes, hopefully develop economic prosperity within the council region,” he explained.
SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood has called on the Executive to firm up the offer with a financial commitment.
“For years the SDLP has been advocated the cost of running City of Derry Airport be transferred to Stormont,” he said.
“The airport is a vital transport hub in this region but it totally unfair that our council should be expected to support it financially given its limited budget.
“Removing this burden would allow our council to provide millions in funding back into worthy projects across the area.”
The SDLP’s Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan has called for a timeline on when the shift in financial responsibility will take place.
“I’ve been liaising directly with Economy Minister Conor Murphy on this issue for some time and recently received a firm commitment from him that his department would take over the running of the airport,” he said.
“While this is welcome, we need further details around how and when this transition will be implemented.”
He added: “There has been quite a bit of back and forth over the years around which department actually holds responsibility for the airport; Infrastructure or Economy. “While this is a positive step in the right direction, we’re yet to hear confirmation of even one penny of funding.
“There likely won’t be a commitment until after the October Monitoring Round and we could be looking at the next financial year before the Department for Economy can assume responsibility for funding of the airport.
“The airport is vital for the economic growth of the North West but for too long the financial burden for maintaining it has fallen on the shoulders of ratepayers in Derry and Strabane. It is way beyond time that the Executive invested fairly in Derry.
“Recognition alone isn’t enough, now we need clarity on a timeline and detail around a funding package.”
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