The former QuickPark car park beside Dublin Airport. It has 6,122 long-stay parking spaces but a sale process for the facility, owned by property developer Gerry Gannon, has stalledHe told the Oireachtas committee on transport that it was not “that big of a drama”, that people were booking early and thus securing parking, and that a third of all passengers came by public transport anyway.
It puts a severe crimp on the airport’s ambitions to grow its revenues, even with more people getting to the airport by public transport.’s currently unused car park on the Swords Road – the former QuickPark site – which has almost accidentally become a piece of vital infrastructure for the airport. In the original sales prospectus, the attractiveness of the asset was obvious – it was the only privately-owned car park close to the airport, with 22 per cent of all long-term parking capacity. With no further car parks permitted under airport planning conditions, it was an alluring investment.
It piqued the interest of a great many bidders, who clearly saw the €70 million guide price as value for money. “Driving non-aero revenue for us means selling more car parking spaces, lounges, fast-track, duty free products, foods and beverages and everything else we can sell to passengers at Dublin and Cork,” he said.
DAA’s bid for QuickPark was successful, with a deal announced in the autumn of 2022. However, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission , the state’s competition watchdog, quickly moved in to investigate. The significance of such a vacuum is more than just the effect on the ability of a number of wealthy investors to buy a lucrative asset, it’s about the availability of parking for Dublin Airport users, and the existence of a healthy price competition at peak times.
“I do not think that process will go forward now. I understand the vendor withdrew because it may not be able to let us do it,” he told the Oireachtas committee.