Mr. Brian Kealy:

While we appreciate that PTC was a private company which unfortunately ended its corporate life with effectively no assets, we wish to highlight the failure of public entities, including the IAA, to act much earlier. The operation of PTC was totally dependent on IAA approval. By showing the forbearance it did, the IAA allowed the students of PTC to suffer great damage to their financial positions and ambitions. The more recently-recruited students were generally owed the most and might not have suffered at all had the company been closed earlier, whereas those who finished during the forbearance period benefited from the expenditure of that cash. Unfortunately, Ms Kealy and I are in the former category.

In its administration and governance, including due diligence in reviewing the accounts of Shemburn rather than those of PTC, the IAA did not act with appropriate care in carrying out its responsibilities, particularly given the acknowledged incidence of Ponzi scheme conditions in flight training schools. Subsequent to the PTC collapse, analogous situations involving the safety responsibilities of public bodies, such as the case of Priory Hall, resulted in very large usages of public moneys. There was considerable co-ordinated action across Departments and the private sector in regard to problems involving English language schools. While the cost of flights home for trainee pilots stranded in the US was covered by the IAA, no other financial assistance was forthcoming other than the preservation of flight records. As Ms Kealy noted, students who ended up re-doing exams when time limits ran out received no discount on the fees charged by the IAA.

Five years after the company's collapse, this is still a sore issue for all affected. We appeal to the committee members to give our case and the futures of all these young people a full and deserved hearing.