The funds are part of a €26 million scheme which aims to help the nation's airports get back on their feet. That scheme is part of a larger €80 million support package for Irish aviation.
Of the €26 million, a total of €20 million is being divided between Ireland's state airports at Dublin, Shannon and Cork. This is in line with a measure under Article 107(2)(b) of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The first half of the funding was announced today by Hildegarde Naughton, Minister of State at the Department of Transport.
The remaining funds will be dispensed in December following a review by the Department of Transport of eligible losses in the current year to end 2021.
"I am pleased to be in a position to announce a total of €20m in funding to our State airports – Dublin, Cork and Shannon," Minister of State Naughton said.
"The funding has been allocated on a pro-rata basis with reference to passenger numbers in 2019. I am hopeful that this funding will go some way towards aiding the recovery process in the aviation sector. As travel restrictions begin to lift, I am also hopeful that this funding may assist in restoring connectivity by affording our State airports greater flexibility in their capacity to offer route incentives, in consultation with airlines."
Cork Airport is also eligible for funding under the Covid-19 Regional State Airports Programme, with a total budget of over €32 million in 2021. As part of that programme, Naughton announced "€10 million in Exchequer funding for a significant runway reconstruction project at Cork Airport."
