Ireland's airport funding: the future of regional airports

Regional airports have a role to play in most countries but they are often undervalued. Ireland has more of those airports than most, for its small population, but they consistently live in the shadow of Dublin Airport, which punches well over its weight.

The government has offered support to four small regional airports, one of which, Waterford, has no commercial services and was in real danger of closing down.

The question is why European banks such as the EIB and EBRD are not playing their part, while one of those organisations is granting loan money at Dublin Airport which, comparatively speaking, is not in such great need of it.