Fingal says DAA’s actions over passenger cap ‘inappropriate and outside the bounds’ of planning process

In a statement issued this evening, the council said the Dublin Airport Authority’s (DAA) action “raised serious concerns about procedural integrity” and “risks undermining confidence in the fairness of the planning process”.

Earlier this month, Fingal issued a request for further information following the most recent application by the DAA to increase the airport’s passenger cap to 36 million.

The council said that the request was required “after a number of substantive concerns and inconsistencies were identified… including – but not limited to – the applicant’s variable approach to passenger counting methodologies”.

It said it received a letter from the DAA objecting to the council’s request for further information and described the approach taken in that letter “as inappropriate and outside the bounds of the statutory planning process”.

“Efforts to influence or alter the RFI through non-statutory correspondence raises serious concerns about procedural integrity and risks undermining confidence in the fairness of the process – particularly for third parties and members of the public who engaged with the application in good faith and in accordance with planning law,” Fingal said.

“The appropriate and lawful method for addressing the RFI is through a formal response as provided for under planning legislation,” the statement added.

“The council does not consider it appropriate to withdraw any element of the RFI, nor is there any process for doing so,” it said.

The DAA has been contacted for a response.

Relations between the council and the DAA have continued to sour over the 32 million passenger cap, which dates back to 2008 planning permission for a second terminal which limited the number of passengers travelling through the airport on a yearly basis.

Management at the airport and major airlines want it increased dramatically. Earlier this month, Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien met the Attorney General to examine options about the cap. Airlines including Ryanair and Aer Lingus have called for it to be removed to increase visitor numbers and boost Ireland’s competitiveness.

Mr O’Brien said the Government was “committed” to removing the cap despite “complexities within that”.

In January, Fingal deemed a previous application by the DAA to increase the cap from 32 to 36 million passengers as invalid.