James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have some critical feedback. I have complimented some of the work done but this needs to be said if anything happens in the future and we need to strengthen pre-arrival requirements in testing for any new variant or whatever. Leaving it so close to midnight for the airlines to be informed was not productive and it left quite an expense on many people and particularly consumers. That was unfair. I appreciate that it is often the case in politics that legal advice can cause impediments to certain measures being implemented, and this is correct as we are talking about the law. We must point out though that what happened was wrong and it is an area for improvement.

Overall, from the capital expenditure point of view, the Department of Transport has moved very quickly to support airports with capital and operational expenditure. That has been fantastic and I say "well done" to everybody on that. I know many people in airlines and airports will be listening today and they have done fantastic work as well, especially those working very closely with the committee.

In many ways the new variant has presented us with difficulties but we must do a strong assessment of the risk involved in travel. A person on a bus or train may sit next to another person for an extended period and we should have a frank discussion about whether the aviation sector is as big a risk as it is made out to be. There is no doubt it is involved with the spread of new variants and that is currently in the spotlight. Once we get a better understanding of the new variant, we should look at withdrawing some of the prerequisites as soon as possible or when we have a full understanding of the efficacy of vaccines in respect of the new variant. That research will probably be published in the run-up to Christmas and we will have a much improved understanding of it.

This is just frustrating for passengers. People who regularly travel via plane have told me they are almost sick of the process at this stage. Each country has its own various approaches as well, and that is not very productive. NPHET should do some self-analysis on its attitude to the aviation sector. There is a strong argument that air filtration systems on planes make them one of the safest locations for a large gathering of individuals in an enclosed space. It is a point that is not often made. Mr. Towey and the departmental officials know that public confidence in aviation has been damaged so much and we need to rebuild that. In the context of Cork Airport, Dublin Airport and other regional airports, such as Shannon - it is often spoken about passionately by representatives from that area of the country - we have a big job to do to rebuild public confidence in aviation. I have flown a few times in the past number of months for work and travel. Everybody is putting in a major effort and that must be acknowledged. It is not something we should unnecessarily throw under the bus when it suits NPHET to do so.