Angry Rebel
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It’s so much the amount spent, but how it was spent. For that money they should have had a better terminal with a higher capacity, more ramp space for widebody jets and business jets and maybe even upgraded landing systems. Grrrrrrr!
Instead we got a terminal that reached it’s designed passenger throughput capacity in the year it was opened, insufficient space for business jets (an easy revenue source), a ramp so small that widebodies have to park down by the freight terminal instead of at the terminal or the sole airbridge and the same ILS systems which aren’t suited to the inclement weather sometimes found in Cork.
A right muppet of a letter to the editor today in the Indo.
“What is it about Cork people that makes many of them believe the rest of the country is envious of them?
Take the case of the recent controversy over Cork Airport.
When former Minister for Transport Seamus Brennan promised that Cork Airport would be granted independence from Dublin on a debt-free basis, the local cute hoors thought they’d pull a fast one.
Thinking they had been handed a blank cheque, they went ahead and built a Taj Mahal of a terminal at enormous expense.
Now they are bleating about being asked to pay about half the cost of their gold-plated white elephant.
Then we have Roy Keane claiming an anti-Cork bias, simply because one of his Sunderland players has not been included in the Irish football squad.
Perhaps it’s just a wise precaution on Stan’s part, given that a certain Corkman walked out on his country at a critical time a couple of years ago.
Forgotten about that one, have you Roy?
PETER MOLLOY, HADDINGTON PARK, GLENAGEARY, CO DUBLIN “
This fool is content to make cheap jibes rather than do a bit of digging and realise that the Taj Mahal on the hill was designed by the DAA and project managed by the DAA. I’m hopeful that if Cork management had been involved there’d have been less gold plating and more functional design (eg air bridges, more security staff in the mornings, more seating airside etc etc etc)
I don’t agree that operating both terminals need be prohibitively expensive. If the two were connected by a simple tunnel/corridor (fixed and weatherproof of course!) you could retain the checkin and security in the new terminal.
What the new terminal is short on is departures space, and that is what would be best provided by the old terminal.
Whilst true that the new terminal can be “easily” expanded to cater for 5 million, that expansion needs to be paid for, and money is not growing on trees in Cork Airport!!!
1 – The CAA should not have to pay for something that the DAA controlled the design of. The new terminal is already operating at capacity, only has one airbridge and was overbudget. You designed this gold plated monster, you pay for it!
2 – The DAA has far greater earning potential due to the elements of the Aer Rianta empire that stayed with it, e.g. Great Southern Hotel chain, Aer Rianta International (which has incredibly valuable holdings in overseas airports, duty free operations in overseas airports and so on. If the CAA was given, say, the formerly Aer Rianta held stake in Birmingham airport, I’m sure they’d be more willing to shoulder some of the debt.
3 – Shannon has had a new terminal build and paid for by DAA/Aer Rianta, it’s only a matter of fairness that the same treatment should apply to Cork?
4 – A promise is a promise you spineless FF bunch!
But….your comment re political promises being worthless is correct, but summarises the problem with Irish politics. We know promises are worthless yet we don’t punish those politicians making said promises. We see the same with “resignation” types issues. Minister and TDs refuse to resign over genuinely serious issues, thereby showing their contempt for Irish voters, because they’re safe in teh knowledge that we won’t dump them out in the next election. This is in stark contrast to the UK where a Minister can be forced to resign over far less serious (to Irish eyes) issues.
Edit added – re Browser’s post – That is a quality rant and right on the money. Respect!
Not a lot for Cork so in terms of concrete and new ideas.
These plans make me cynical about politics, e.g.
– the introduction of hourly trains? That was introduced 2 weeks ago on the Cork – Dublin line. Easy to know you’ll meet your promises when they’ve been delivered before the plan!
– reopening of Midleton rail? Has been announced at least 10 times now by government or government ministers and is funded already under current plan.
– Completion of Cork – Dublin road? Was meant to be done by 2006!
– Docklands?! To quote Greg Coughlan of Howard Holdings last week, we’re 6 years into a 20 year Docklands strategy and what have we done so far? Zero!
– Green Routes? Due to our narrow streets and roads in Cork, we have, more or less, bus lanes in the places we can put them. What we need is lots of new buses to fill those lanes to move more passengers and justify the valuable road space they have taken.😡
The big flaw in all of this is that you need money to build it all, lots and lots of money (why can’t we build at prices achieved in Europe!?).
Unfortunately most of the Greens economic policies are madder than a very mad madman….and they won’t have that money…..
In fairness, you can’t blame him for trying that one on…Fianna Fáil “announce” that every time someone from the Cabinet comes to Cork! It must have been formally announced a 6/7 times at this stage….and politicians wonder why people are a bit cynical about politics in Ireland!
The biggest cost is the boats. Couple of mil each believe it or not. The landing points aren’t cheap, you’re right.
There is no exemption at the moment for the proposed service.
What you say about the wash is correct, but I reckon the main reason is a safety thing, both in terms of room to maneuvre around the channel if a ship was coming down, and more importantly (as they’re tough to spot sometimes) is the rowers.
The feasibilty study looked at a boat capable of 26 knots, but it’s irrelevant to a degree as there is a 6 knot limit from blackrock castle to the city centre.
The biggest issue is that the demand is not sufficient to make the service viable (ie. cover the costs of the boat and setup, and turn some sort of profit). If the train was not there, it would probably be a goer, but unfortunately the train is cheap, fast (relatively) and frequent (also relatively!).
You’ll also find that there are very few post-security seats as well. Overall I find the design to be poorly thought out and executed. Take your typical Sunday night where a very high number of flights depart around the same time, or any weekday morning and the departures lounge areas are quite congested.
What is this idea with the restricted development to protect the views of certain Cork landmarks? I thought that one had no entitlement to a view under Irish planning law? This has the potential to serverly curtail the scale of development in many areas and is an example of political meddling at it’s worst.
The muppet who called for that attack did so because “it’s where American troops stop on their way to Iraq”. Me thinks it’s Shannon he meant, but he couldn’t even get the call to bomb somewhere right!!!
@kite wrote:
😮 Jerry “CSD supporter†Buttimer after 5 Minutes in city council and still wet behind the ears now proposes that Cork City Council withdraw the 10 million funding for Green Bus routes in the city as they do not work. This according to the councilor willing to jump on any 3 wheeled bandwagon to get his name in the papers, plus
all this guff from a councilor that cribbed to the City Manager on 25th April 2005 about the temporary closure of the No.8 Green Route outside the CUH to allow for the realignment of a kerb for safety reasons.
We really do get a “special†type of local representative here in Cork? :rolleyes:Agree with you and Buttimer (shudder to say it!). I think most of the green routes have been a phenomenal waste of money and are completely ineffective. I am in favour of them, but only if done right, and that includes increasing bus frequencies to a point where the bus lane is an efficient use of finite road space.
Not to be pedantic, but it doesn’t look like European funding, it’s European approval of tax breaks and other incentives for the area.
The article says it was at a price agreeable to all. That’s a nice and vague statement, but it doesn’t necessarily mean hugely inflated, but you can bet it was over the price originally available!
It also notes an official is currently suspended. It would be good to see some real world accountability and see this person sacked (if it’s determined that they deserve it!)
I got a new train last week and must admit to being disappointed. The ride comfort in particular, whether it was the train or the tracks, or the combination of the two, was awful. Really uncomforable. A friend I met in Kent who works for IE said they have made an awful bags of the suspension setup.
Also, there is no luggage space in the cars for bags too large or heavy for the overhead racks. A terrible omission.
They were pumping concrete yesterday afternoon and evening, but I suspect that was crane related foundation rather than building related?
The most consistent approach, which would also have the support of most road users, would be to apply a speed limit that is sensible for that road. If that means a lower limit, good, if a higher limit, good. The speed limit should be what is appropriate for that road, not because it happens to have the same designation as another road.
e.g. Why should the old road outside Fermoy/Watergrasshill be 80km/h when the N71 all the way down West Cork, a vastly inferior road in places, is 100km/h?!
