Mr. Kevin Doyle:

These are technical amendments to the State Airports Acts. Section 51 of the 2014 Act substituted section 27 of the 2004 Act to provide for making the owner of an illegally parked vehicle liable for a by-law infringement, even if they were not driving it at the time, as well as making the driver liable. This section also adds a new section. It allows the owner of a vehicle to make a declaration in writing that another person was in charge of the car at the time the offence was committed. The amendment is for the smooth operation of the airport. It does not impact on any cases that could be taken, but it causes a problem with people refusing to remove vehicles if found to be illegally parked in an area of the airport or in a security sensitive area at the airport. It also provides for the authorised officers to stop persons and ask for evidence of identity and any other relevant information. It basically gives them the power of arrest as well if somebody does not comply with those requirements either to leave the airport or to remove the vehicle from the location.