Mr. Michael McGrail:

I am not fully aware. I would say they became vacant during 2018. I know that a process is ongoing with the Public Appointments Service, and an appeal for recruits has been made. The closing date for applications for board membership could be this week. As in other State boards it is the role of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to appoint these people, but the Department will work with me in looking at the applications. In answer to Deputy Troy's question on whether we have sufficient competencies, there is a certain limit when a board only has five members out of nine.

I would hope, as I said in my statement, that we would have additional competencies, especially in safety. That would be really important. That process is ongoing and I am assured - and was assured by the Minister on Monday - that the process will be dealt with in the coming months.

On the issue of the separation, I cannot tell the committee exactly when the Department hopes to introduce legislation. From my discussions with officials, they view this as something to be moved on quickly but I do not have a date. I should also say I have not asked on what date legislation will be brought forward.

With regard to the construction of a new control tower in Dublin Airport, the tower will be handed over to the Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, in 2020. It will then take approximately two years to make sure it is totally functional. The existing tower will remain and will be a backup tower. During that process, there will be dual operation between the two towers to ensure the new tower is operational.

On the larger question on what will happen in the next three years or so, the new runway is a DAA rather than an IAA project. I understand requests for tender for the runway contract will be issued imminently. I believe the runway will be operational within three years or so. Obviously, there are restrictions on the runway, to which Deputy Troy alluded. However, notwithstanding those restrictions, the presence of an additional runway will increase capacity for take-off and landing within Dublin Airport.

Deputy Troy raised RP3, which is the third reference period. I do not know if members have read the 2017 annual report of the Irish Aviation Authority. It contains a graph that shows the IAA's charges by reference to other countries. It is interesting that our charges are quite keen and lower than those applied in adjoining countries with similar labour environments, for example, the UK, France and Germany. Our issue is that while we can understand why the European Commission wants to control costs, the IAA and the Department believe we are doing well in that regard.

With regard to the negotiations that will take place in the European Commission, the IAA will be a part of that. The authority also has a strong relationship with the Department and joins with the Department in many of these discussions. From my discussions with the Department, I believe we will secure the support we need to put forward a strong case that Ireland is doing well but we need to be able to invest in all of our technology over a period. This means it would be difficult for us to sustain a reduction in our charges.

I will now turn to the issue of search and rescue and the Aeropace Qualified Entity, AQE, review of oversight of search and rescue aviation operations in Ireland. When I met Department officials on Monday, we spoke about that. Perhaps I should have asked the direct question, but I did not ask when legislation would be introduced. I know it is a priority for the Department. Prior to the legislation the IAA will work with the Department to ensure that we begin to get the resources required to fulfil the changed mandate for the IAA.

On Brexit, the Deputy is correct that there are two aspects to the process. There is the traffic management aspect within Europe. When the UK becomes a third country it obviously leaves that process. There is also the air safety aspect. The Department and the IAA are particularly aware of the importance of the UK, especially because Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Boeing have substantial facilities there, which at the moment are passported into Europe with parts coming into aircraft. We are all very much aware of that and it will form part of the discussions we will have with the Department in, hopefully, avoiding a hard Brexit. Was that the final issue the Deputy raised?