Dublin airport operator the DAA has abandoned plans to purchase the former QuickPark carpark from Gerry Gannon for €70m, CEO Kenny Jacobs has told the Oireachtas Transport committee.
The car park can accommodate 6,100 vehicles and is the largest carpark serving Dublin Airport.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) blocked the purchase, citing concerns of higher prices and lower service quality for consumers if the carpark is sold to the airport operator.
DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs expressed the desire to secure the QuickPark site for more carpark spaces, but a temporary operating agreement was rejected by CCPC.
Carparking facilities at Dublin Airport are reaching capacity during the summer, with passengers advised to take public transport or secure alternative transportation options.
Kenny Jacobs told the committee “We were close to getting a deal done, but they’ve withdrawn from that process. We wanted to be able to operate it and our understanding was legally we could on a short-term basis, just for July and August, and then we’d be gone in September. CCPC indicated that even the temporary plan would be in contravention of competition rules. We would like more carpark spaces. Most of all, we’d like to buy the Quickpark site. Since the CCPC decision, we have engaged with the owner of Quickpark, I’ve met with the owner myself, saying could we do a deal to operate it for two months.
That would have given us an additional 6,000 spaces. They’re also the best 6,000 spaces that exist. I think it was a great shame that last summer, we’d issues with carparking… and we weren’t able to operate those spaces. I hope they get to sell the site, because there’s nothing worse than looking out and hearing about people being anxious about carparking and then you see tumbleweed going across 6,000 spaces. If you want to get a short-term carparking space this weekend, we’re sold out. But if you’re going away on the classic one-week or two-week holiday and you want to get a long-term car park space, go on the website and you’ll be able to book and you’ll be able to find one.”
