Cork Airport to undergo €200 million expansion over the next decade
CORK AIRPORT IS set to undergo a major expansion over the next decade as part of a €200 million development plan.
The plan will see the demolition and replacement of the airport's old terminal and old control tower along with a new pier and additional aircraft parking stands.
Daa, the operator of Cork Airport, said the 'significant investment' will also include a new mezzanine floor in the terminal, new security screening area, a larger duty-free shop, installation of new airbridges and long-term car park extension.
The upgrade will enable the airport to cater for five million passengers per annum in the years ahead. The airport is expected to serve over 3.4 million passengers this year, having grown its passenger base by over 50% in the last decade.
Cork Airport said it contributes over €1 billion to the Irish economy and supports over 12,000 people, directly and indirectly.
It described the expansion plan as 'the most significant capital investment plans for Cork Airport in nearly a quarter of a century'.
Advertisement
The programme was launched by Taoiseach Micheál Martin today. He said the plan 'emphasises the importance of the airport to both the regional and national economy'.
'Cork Airport has become a critical component of our national transport infrastructure and as Ireland's fastest growing airport, its continued development is paramount,' Martin said.
'I have no doubt that the benefits of this plan will only bring further growth to what is already a thriving airport.'
Asked today if he would like to see plans to extended the proposed new
Cork Luas
to the airport, the Taoiseach said it would be 'a huge undertaking' to get the existing plans built.
He said an eventual connection to the airport would be a 'very good, integrated proposal in terms of the city centre', but added that 'we have to await public consultations'.
'If we could get the existing Luas as per the publication delivered, I certainly would look forward to going up to the airport.'
Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien said the investment comes on top of the nearly €50 million in Exchequer funding since 2021, which facilitated a number of improvements, including the runway remediation project and the planned solar farm.
Niall MacCarthy, the managing director of Cork Airport, said: 'What we have announced today is a significant capital infrastructure plan not just for Cork Airport but for the entire South of Ireland region and our team will be proud to lead its delivery.'
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
24 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Inside ‘delightful' family home on Irish market for €269k – and it's ‘immaculately presented throughout'
TAKE a look inside the "delightful" family home on the Irish market for €269,000 - and it's "immaculately presented throughout". This stunning pad is located in Ashfield, Co Advertisement 6 The pad is located near Carlow town Credit: Estate Agents Collect 6 And it is now on the Irish market for €269,000 Credit: Estate Agents Collect 6 It comes with a spacious living room Credit: Estate Agents Collect 6 The pad also features a fully-tiled kitchen Credit: Estate Agents Collect This semi-detached It comes fully The house listing reads: "This delightful semi-detached home is located in a quiet cul-de-sac on the southern edge of Carlow town, with full access to all mains services and town amenities. "Constructed in 1999, the residence presents a three-bed-one-bath configuration, with the added bonus of an integrated garage cavity at ground floor level, ripe for immediate conversion." Advertisement READ MORE IN MONEY It includes a substantial modern kitchen with access to the rear garden and is perfect for This stunning kitchen has tiled flooring and is fully fitted with white cabinets, an oven, and a dishwasher. Double-glazed windows located around the kitchen and dining area allow plenty of natural light to enter the house. The family home is in an excellent location, with cafes, Advertisement MOST READ IN MONEY Along with being a short walk from Carlow town centre, Kilkenny and Portlaoise are each within an hour's drive of this fabulous property. The area also includes a choice of primary and secondary schools, perfect for Inside three bed family home on Irish market for €170k on 'generous site,' in 'desirable location' Located in a sought after residential area, the family home is equipped with oil-fired central heating and has a spacious back garden. A major bonus to the pad is that it comes with an integrated garage making it perfect for a conversion. Advertisement What's more, the home features off street parking and a large garden. When entering the home, viewers are greeted by a fabulous hallway with timber flooring and plenty of storage room under the stairs. A This comfortable area is filled with natural light and space, creating a cosy atmosphere. Advertisement There are three bathrooms in this family home and the first of which is fully tiled and includes a wash basin, a bath and a toilet. F irst floor offerings Moving upstairs, there is a spacious and modern landing with carpet flooring. On the property's first floor there are three bedrooms, including a master bedroom with timber flooring, natural light and plenty of storage space. The second bedroom is spacious and features views overlooking the garden, along with wooden flooring and wardrobes, and could fit a king-size bed. Advertisement The home's third bedroom is a modern single room that features plenty of storage space and natural light. The Along with featuring a patio area, it comes with ample space and greenery. The property is listed by Sherry Fitzgerald and on Advertisement 6 The property is a three bedroom pad Credit: Estate Agents Collect 6 It comes with a large rear garden Credit: Estate Agents Collect
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'I bought breakfast in Spain and thought the price was a joke'
Tenerife has long been a favourite holiday destination for Irish tourists, and despite rising concerns about costs and over-tourism, many holidaymakers are still finding incredible value on the island. The Canary Island hotspot, which welcomed over 7 million visitors last year - including a strong Irish contingent -, is set to introduce a new 'eco tax' in 2026 aimed at protecting Mount Teide - Spain's tallest mountain and one of Tenerife's most iconic natural attractions. The charge will apply to those wanting to access the protected national park area as part of a broader effort to curb over-tourism and preserve the island's natural treasures. While there's been online chatter about rising costs for food and drink, one expat living on the island is pushing back on those claims. Speaking on TikTok, the British travel worker highlighted just how affordable Tenerife still is - especially compared to Ireland and the UK. Filming from Los Cristianos, a popular resort town beloved by the Irish, he showed off a hearty full English breakfast he picked up in local cafe La Tasca 7 for just €4.60. The plate came piled with two sausages, two rashers, toast, tomato and fried eggs - minus baked beans by choice. The sizeable feast, served on a "big plate" complete with HP sauce and enjoyed against the backdrop of the ocean, came at what he hailed an unbelievable bargain. He exclaimed: "That's the price of one pint in the UK and I've got a full English breakfast, in the sun, for [the same price]. How do they even make money selling it this cheap?". The TikTok video quickly went viral racking up almost 900,000 views and hundreds of comments. Commenters quickly jumped in to agree, with one saying: "Prices are good in Tenerife. I can't see how people say it's dear... You can find a pint for €1.50 and a breakfast for €3... and we absolutely love it." Caution, the video below contains some strong language. Another added: "We went there after the markets and it was so nice! Nice spot to people watch, enjoy the view, and was super cheap compared to most other places." Someone else said: "Not bad the price, over here you can't get it for under €8 and it's not even that decent." Still, not everyone agreed. A few pointed out that not all of Spain is as cheap as Tenerife, with one commenter noting: "It used to be cheap for Brits. Not anymore". Someone else mentioned: "It's not like that in all of Spain, in Tenerife the taxes are way lower then the rest of Spain, don't expect those prices everywhere." The debate even sparked some playful commentary over the choice of cuisine. One teased: "You in Tenerife and eating English breakfast? You okay?", as another showed amusement at the dining decision: "It always baffles me why people go to an exotic country to order an English breakfast." The lack of beans on his plate also caught attention. One commentated quipped: "Can't trust no one that don't like beans that's diabolical". A different user simply inquired: "How can anybody not like beans".
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Support, don't star: rethinking the Arts Council's role
Theatremaker Dan Colley asks: Has the Arts Council of Ireland taken on too much 'main character energy'? I would like to propose a gear shift with the appointment of the next Director of the Council. The next Director should reorient the Arts Council into the role of supporting character in the story of the arts. It will take a really adept leader not to try and fix everything that's wrong with the organisation from within, but instead to follow. From the outset I want to acknowledge the many dedicated public servants who work at the Arts Council - people who care deeply about the arts and have served tirelessly through periods of huge change. Not least among them Maureen Kennelly, the outgoing Director of the Arts Council, who enjoys widespread support and respect among the community. Her commitment to artists, particularly during the pandemic, has been felt and appreciated. The Arts Council is the national agency for funding, developing and promoting the arts in Ireland. The money it gets from Government to fulfil that mandate has gone from €75 million in 2019, to €140 million in 2025. An 86.5% increase in six years. It's a credit to the people at the Arts Council, and to the volunteer advocates at the National Campaign for the Arts, that they have helped bring greater public and political understanding of the arts—not just as an economic or reputational asset, but as an essential part of Irish life and a foundation of a healthy society. So why, when the Arts Council has more money than ever before, does it feel harder than ever to make theatre? I'm a theatre maker, and that question brought a group of my peers together last year - trying to make sense of an increasingly precarious sector. Theatre funding has effectively stagnated - rising only 5.8% since 2008 - an increase that's been outstripped by inflation. And yet the Arts Council more than doubled its staff since 2020. While additional capacity at the Arts Council may have been necessary, the lack of parallel investment in their clients has created a gulf between the people who produce art and the agency that manages the funding. No theatre has doubled its staff. No plays have doubled its cast. Over 800 artists signed an open letter calling for emergency investment in the sector which was delivered in December 2024. The feeling was widespread: theatre in Ireland is struggling, not because there's no funding, but because of how it's being distributed. The problem is not about people. It's about systems. The Arts Council is a public body with a wide remit, serving everything from festivals to literature, music, venues, visual art, as well as the more nebulous idea of 'promoting the arts in Ireland'. But its most essential function - getting funding to artists and the people who connect art with the public - is not working. If the Arts Council were truly attuned to the interests of artists, it would see the current delays in funding decisions as an organisational crisis. Radical measures would be considered - like redeploying staff or drastically simplifying processes - to get investment to artists in time. If it were more attuned to artists' interests, the fact that only 15% of eligible theatre applications are funded wouldn't be brushed off as "the competitive context." It would be treated as an emergency. The next Director should make the Arts Council a supporting character - one that enables, rather than directs. If it were aligned with artists' interests', the Council's budget submission to Government would not be built around what it thinks it can get, or what looks tidy on paper, but on the real cost of funding all the applications it has already judged to be worthy. They would base it on the real demand, no matter how big that number is. These are questions I've been asking, along with many others, not out of hostility, but out of necessity. These failures are not moral ones. They are systemic. Systems respond to power and, as it stands, the Arts Council responds most clearly to the pressures it is most exposed to - be they departmental, political, or bureaucratic. The artist's voice is still too faint in that chorus. That's why I've been part of a group that formed the Theatre Artists Assembly - an attempt to give the arts practitioners a unified, democratic voice. Not to shout louder, but to speak more clearly and together about what we need to do our work. I would like to see assemblies like this being integrated into Arts Council decision-making processes. I would like to see artist and practitioner-led groups taking power and responsibility over the decisions that affect them. Yes, even the difficult and unpopular decisions. We have seen in citizens' assemblies how groups of people can come together and, when provided with the facts, expertise, and time to digest them and come to a conclusion, they do so with remarkable civility and clarity. I think this could be an experiment in co-creation of state policy. This could be a way of making institutions work in ways that reflect the interests of its stakeholders. It could be something we so acutely need; a form of democracy that happens between elections. This approach could strengthen and renew the principle of the Arts Council's 'arms-length' from Government. This is the principle, established in the Arts Art, that keeps decisions about what kind of art to produce and who to fund to do it, out of the realm of party politics. This could be a way of affirming that distance from the political system, while establishing community-voice and democratic responsibility. The next Director should make the Arts Council a supporting character - one that enables, rather than directs. They should build models for democratic decision-making - not merely "consultation" but real decision-making power. It will take a deft leader to resist the urge to fix everything from within, and instead recognise that real leadership often means creating space for others to shape the path. In short, they should lead by following.
