Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 40, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: "Crew Peer Support Programmes

58.The Act of 1993 is amended by the insertion of section 14C:

"14C. (1)The Irish Aviation Authority shall periodically review the crew peer support programmes provided by the holders of air carrier licences or otherwise made available by them to crew pursuant to the requirements of CAT.GEN.MPA. 215 to Annex IV (Part – CAT) of Regulation (EU) No. 965/2012.

(2) A comprehensive review of each such support programme shall be conducted by the Irish Aviation Authority at least every three years and no more frequently than at one year

intervals, in respect of which it shall consider the following—

(a) the nature of the programme having regard to the size and diversity of the air carrier in question,

(b) the ability of the programme to provide access to the requisite range of expert supports,

(c) the accessibility of such a programme including encouragement as to its use and the freedom of crew to access an alternative crew peer support programme to meet their personal needs,

(d) the adequacy of confidentiality arrangements,

(e) the involvement of crew representatives and recognised stakeholder groups in establishing and supporting the programme,

(f) the selection and training of peers, and their independence from any conflicting management or supervisory functions within the Air Operator’s Certificate holder or otherwise,

(g) the provision of adequate resources to the programme,

(h) the provision of mental health professionals to support peers when required by programme users, and

(i) the accessibility of programmes services and support by online and other electronic means.

(3) In conducting these comprehensive reviews, the Irish Aviation Authority shall seek feedback from users of the programme to the maximum extent feasible, consistent with maintaining strict confidentiality concerning the identity of crew and their personal circumstances.

(4) In the event of any deficiency in a crew peer support programme being found during a comprehensive review, the Irish Aviation Authority may direct changes to any such programme, which shall be binding. That shall be without prejudice to the ability to the Irish Aviation Authority’s power to direct changes in respect of deficiencies other than those identified during a periodic comprehensive review.

(5) The Irish Aviation Authority shall convene the Crew Peer Support National Forum which shall be chaired by the Irish Aviation Authority’s Chief Medical Officer and include representatives of:

(a) the air carriers that it regulates and any persons engaged in the provision of support services to them or on their behalf;

(b) pilot associations and other recognised stakeholder groups and any persons from those associations engaged in the provision of support services to them or on their behalf.

(6) The Crew Peer Support National Forum, which shall receive secretariat services from the Irish Aviation Authority, has the following functions—

(a) the sharing of best practice on crew peer support programmes,

(b) encouraging the implementation of cooperation and joint resource sharing between different crew peer support programmes,

(c) the development of a common (anonymised) data base to identify trends and to monitor the effectiveness of crew peer support programmes,

(d) making recommendations to the Irish Aviation Authority as to the requirements of crew peer support programmes, and

(e) creating or encouraging the provision of a national crew peer support programme under a separate structure, whether through co-operation between programmes, or by other means, and to be accessible—

(i) by all crew irrespective of their employer,

(ii) by crew not willing to use the programme made available by their employer for personal confidentiality or other reasons, and

(iii) to crew who are out of work.".

The amendment is also in the name of Deputy O'Rourke who, I am sure, would like to speak to it as well.

This amendment is more from the heart than the head. It proposes to establish a standardised peer-to-peer support programme for the industry. A number of incidents have motivated it but the most high-profile tragedy was the Germanwings crash of 2015. It is recognised that pilots need to be provided with support programmes to deal with personal and mental health issues. This should be done in a way that does not necessarily impact on licensing. I ask that this be considered.

Aer Lingus has a good programme. Other airlines have varying programmes at different levels. We need a standardised peer support programme across the industry. We believe we could be a leader in this and it is something that should be brought in.