Ms Martina Kealy:

I will address some of the effects that the collapse of the company had on students. For many students, this was their only chance for a career or education in flying. When PTC collapsed with no reimbursements for students, their dreams collapsed. Some trainees were ashamed to talk about it. We set up and continue to run a Facebook group for these students in order to keep us all together and communicate any progress or developments in our quest for justice over the past five years. We knew it would keep at least some hope alive. Approximately 120 students have continually followed the group since the collapse of PTC in July 2012. I have an interest in mental health and hope that having communication with others on the issue through the Facebook group kept some people from thinking it was all over.

Some students managed to fund the completion of their training although this generally caused significant financial strain for their families. Many others did not complete the training and suffered severe financial consequences without a career to show for them. At least one family had to downsize their house to afford the additional fees for a son of the family to continue his training. Another almost had their home repossessed and had a major row with their bank. One student had a stress-induced seizure and will never be allowed to fly again, which is very sad. Some students took the exams at a later stage but the exams had changed in format or content and students did not receive a discount on the exam fees. There was no way of getting any money back. A woman told me at the weekend that her family was under such financial pressure after her son's dreams were dashed in 2012 that her marriage broke up.