The chief executive of Dublin Airport’s management company has rejected claims by planners that its application for a temporary passenger cap increase was invalid or misleading.
In escalating tensions with Fingal County Council, DAA head Kenny Jacobs suggested the incoming government take airport planning decisions away from the local authority in the national strategic interest.
On Tuesday, Fingal said an application to temporarily lift the passenger cap from 32 million to 36 million was invalid and that its contents were “a matter of great concern”.
However, in a robust further response on Wednesday, DAA released correspondence it said proved the application had initially been accepted as valid.
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An email from Fingal County Council’s planning department to DAA, dated January 6th, states the application “has been declared valid”.
A DAA response at the time thanked Fingal for its quick response and for “confirmation on the validity of the Operational Application”.
[ Slew of submissions against increasing Dublin Airport passenger capOpens in new window ]
A spokesman for Fingal said an initial acknowledgment letter had been generated on its planning system.
“The last sentence of that letter stated: ‘If in the event that the site notice and appropriate fee is found not to comply, the application will be declared invalid and returned to the applicant’. On January 14th the DAA’s planning consultant was informed that the application was invalid.”
The ongoing dispute over the validity of the application comes as the airport operator is grappling with a highly restrictive cap on passenger numbers, limiting them to 32 million annually as part of a previous planning decision.
DAA had intended December’s “no build” application for an increase to 36 million as a stopgap measure while a separate application for a 40 million cap remains under consideration.
“Declaring DAA’s application to increase the cap to 36 million a year as invalid after twice confirming it was valid shows the inconsistent approach of FCC’s (Fingal County Council) planners. We also refute the reasons given for declaring a 1,000-plus page application as misleading,” Mr Jacobs said in a statement.
“The suggestion that DAA had not discussed the application with FCC is wrong. DAA engages extensively with FCC on all planning matters and had more than 30 meetings with them last year.”
Fingal County Council had previously said it was of concern that although available, pre-planning consultation had not taken place.
“The original idea to apply for 36 million rather than 40 million came from [Fingal County Council], and government and other stakeholders have consistently supported the idea to lodge a ‘no build’ application,” Mr Jacobs said. No build refers to a lack of physical infrastructure in the proposal.
“We believe evaluating complex aviation matters should be decided at a national level and are calling on the new government to urgently reclassify Dublin Airport as strategic national infrastructure in the national interest,” he said.
“In the meantime we will continue to engage with FCC to try to find a solution to this impasse.”
DAA’s second response followed a statement by Independent councillor Jimmy Guerin on Wednesday, challenging it to provide the evidence its application had already been deemed valid.
Mr Guerin, who was critical of media coverage of the claim, filed a council motion calling for an area committee to express “full confidence in how our planning department functions”.
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