Mr. Eddie Wilson:

I thank the Chairman for having me back today. Unfortunately since we here on the last occasion on 7 October nothing has changed regarding aviation policy and the strangulation of this industry. The green list system has been a complete and utter disaster for this economy and despite the promises that we are going to adopt a new system, nothing has happened. We have cut ourselves off from Europe. Before anyone comes back and talks about the traffic light system in terms of what other EU countries are doing, this morning in Germany, France, Sweden, Belgium and Spain, one can travel anywhere within the European Union. There is no restriction on flights whatsoever. A direct consequence of this strangulation of our industry is that the Ryanair bases in Cork and Shannon, which we had flagged explicitly based on this because we had no bookings, have now closed and the question is whether they will reopen next summer. That could have been averted. I find it extraordinary that after coming to this committee on the last occasion we did not get one call from either the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, or the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton. The closure of our bases in Cork and Shannon could have been averted or minimised in some way. We did not even get a telephone call from them.

The aviation task force has been reported on since 7 July, more than four months ago, and nothing has been done about it.

People from Ryanair, Aer Lingus, the airports and the leasing companies put in their good time last June and July to put together a report, and it is inexplicable that this Minister has done nothing about it whatsoever.

The market update that I gave the committee the last time I attended has deteriorated. Airlines across Europe are in a bad place. The two airlines that are represented at the committee today are well capitalised, but what is happening is that there will be smaller fleets within Europe next year. Ireland is bottom of the list at the moment, because we are closed for business. Having lost this summer, for summer 2021, nothing has been done to attract business, on which 140,000 people in aviation and 325,000 people in tourism depend for their jobs.

We are calling on the Minister today to do some very simple things, and we have been doing so for months now. The EU traffic light system must be implemented today. We must stop waiting around. There are already countries that are green and amber, and they should be opened straight away. For example, the Greek Islands, the Canary Islands, Germany, Sweden, and parts of Italy could be open today. We do not know what the delay is. As it stands, Government policy is to say that nobody should fly anywhere in and off this small island economy. A key part of this EU traffic light system is that there should be regionalisation, and unless the Government adopts it, it will be useless. Countries should not be cut off in full, so that one can still fly to some places, for example, the Canary Islands, when one may not fly to Madrid, as it is part of Spain.

The aviation task force must be implemented. Why is it still sitting there and why have the Minister for Transport and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, not done anything about it?

We want consultation. There are many things happening at the moment on which none of the airlines and stakeholders are being consulted. When has one ever heard of Ryanair, Aer Lingus and the Dublin Airport Authority all saying exactly the same thing?

This industry is in decline, and we lost this summer due to Government policy failures and advice not to travel. I note that this morning NPHET stated that Christmas travel should be suspended. I am sorry, but being worried is not good enough for us. We need data, and there are no data that state that air travel is not safe. It is the safest place where people can congregate, due to a combination of 100% compliance in the wearing of face masks, high efficiency particulate air filters being used, and policies and procedures from the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control, ECDC, being followed.

We need to get the balance right in this economy, which means that we need to be able to preserve jobs and protect those who are most vulnerable, and we should be able to do this. NPHET got it wrong on care homes, meat factories, face masks, and on travel throughout this summer when it should have been concentrating on increasing capacity and getting a properly functioning track and trace system.

The two points I wish to make to the Minister are as follows. The EU traffic light system must be implemented with regionalisation, and it must be done today. We are closed when all the other economies within Europe are open. Second, the Minister must implement the aviation task force, which has not been done to date. This includes in particular the incentives to get airlines to return to Ireland, especially for summer 2021, including the specific recommendation for the rebate of airport charges for a period of three years, which would apply to all airlines within the industry.