Government parties feeling political squeeze over Mayo airport SDZ jigsaw

There can be little doubt that the government parties' elected representatives in Mayo are beginning to feel the pressure in regard to the planned delivery of a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) to Ireland West Airport.

Charlestown Sinn Féin Councillor Gerry Murray, who lives within close proximity to the facility, cast a proverbial fly into the ointment at the October meeting of Mayo County Council by expressing fears over the future upgrading of water and sewerage services at the airport - a key component of an increasingly challenging SDZ jigsaw.

He pointed out that Uisce Éireann had indicated that they will not be upgrading the services, indicating the funding will have to come from the airport itself.

Describing the revelation as 'a disgrace', he said Uisce Éireann's rationale is that the airport is a standalone commercial entity, with no domestic element in terms of water and sanitation.

As it stands, the roadmap for the SDZ is scheduled to be finalised next autumn, but the water services issue is now hanging over it like an elephant in the room.

The SDZ, for the record, would be the only one in Ireland located outside an urban area and the first one to be positioned on the site of an international airport.

It has, according to the government, the potential to support up to 6,000 jobs as well as driving regional economic development in unprecedented fashion.

So why would an issue as fundamental as a water and sewerage upgrade be allowed to hang out there as a possible spoiler of the zoning initiative?

The reason is that it's not yet designated as a priority project in the National Development Plan (NDP), a status for which Mayo County Council is pressing.

Minister of State Alan Dillon pointed out in a recent interview with the Irish Independent that once the roadmap is in place next August or September, appropriate funding mechanisms will be considered.

“Its development would align with broader objectives around the delivery of balanced regional development, as set out in Project Ireland 2040, and regional economic growth as set out in the Programme for Government 2025,” he said.

Joining the dots is clearly some way off at this point, however, thus providing a platform for Councillor Murray to place the political squeeze on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, or more precisely cabinet minister Dara Calleary and the aforementioned Alan Dillon.

It's how politics works and the public expects the right questions to be asked at the right time.

At this point, Councillor Murray is asking the right questions, but the answers he's seeking are not exactly forthcoming.

It's a story worth keeping a close eye on.