Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We will proceed in public session to record the decisions of the committee. The committee has received a total of 124 petitions to date since the launch of the petitions system. The secretariat has been examining them to establish their admissibility and how best to progress the petitions for consideration by the joint committee. Some 104 of the petitions received have been brought before the committee on at least one occasion.

The first is No. 22 of 2014 and relates to compensation for victims of uninsured aircraft operators, as there is no equivalent to the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland. The petitioner is Mr. John Dunphy. Following involvement in an aircraft accident where insurance was rescinded, the petitioner is requesting that the Oireachtas legislate in respect of compensation for injured parties. The EU motor insurance directive requires member states to legislate for victims of uninsured motorists, but there is currently no equivalent of the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland for the aviation industry.

We have agreed to refer the petition and correspondence to the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, suggesting that it may wish to include it in its work programme and give consideration to the establishment of the aviation insurers bureau and engage at European level on this issue. We will forward the petition and correspondence to the Department and it may wish to consider changes to address the issue. We will inform the petitioner and close the petition. Is that agreed? Agreed.

The second petition before us is No. 23 of 2014 and requests a plebiscite to allow for a directly elected mayor of Dublin. It comes from Ms Catherine Heaney and the group Let Dublin Vote. The petitioners recommend the introduction of a plebiscite and feel the veto in the Local Government Act 2014 is in contradiction to what was promised in the programme for Government. The Local Government Reform Act 2014 provided for the holding of a plebiscite on the possible introduction of an office of directly elected mayor for Dublin. However, the holding of a plebiscite in conjunction with the 2014 local elections was predicated on agreement by the four local authorities in Dublin, which did not materialise. The Department has advised that the current legislation needs to be changed to consider any plebiscite or referendum and the Department does not wish to do this based on its heavy legislative work programme.