CONCERNS have been raised that not enough information in being given to local councillors before they are asked to make decisions regarding the City of Derry Airport (CoDA).
The issue was raised at Thursday afternoon’s meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Audit, Assurance and Risk Committee, where the Annual Audit Report for the airport was presented.
The report stated that on the basis of the work carried out at CODA Operations Ltd, Internal Audit provided a 'Satisfactory' level of assurance that CODA Operations Ltd control environment was ‘adequate and effective’.
Speaking at the meeting, the independent councillor Paul Gallagher said that councillors were being asked to approve reports relating to the airport, but were not being provided with the necessary information to make such decisions.
He also raised concerns over the role of the management group at the airport.
“What is in the contract of the management group, and what is it costing us?” he added.
“We are being asked to make decisions here, and we should have that information.”
Cllr Gallagher told the meeting that the rates bills had been sent out to ratepayers last week, but he ‘didn’t see anybody in this council looking to protect the ratepayers’.
He also called into question passenger numbers at the facility, adding that they fell ‘well, well short’ of projections.
Sinn Fein’s Eric McGinley said some of the issues raised by Cllr Gallagher may be addressed in a report to be brought before a future meeting of the council’s Governance and Strategic Planning Committee, while Denise McDonnell, Lead Assurance Officer with Derry City and Strabane District Council, said that she would take the issues back to the board of CoDA.
Cllr McGinley then said that Cllr Gallagher had been ‘bandying about figures from years ago’, with Cllr Gallagher responding that the figures were ‘real’.
He then vowed to keep asking questions about the airport on behalf of the ratepayer.
“I’ll keep raising it, I’m an elected representative, people might not like it, but I am.”
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