Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the members for allowing me to appear before the committee and for acceding to my request to request the attendance of representatives of the IAA and the DAA. By way of a brief statement, it is extraordinary that representatives of the DAA would refuse to come in to speak to this committee. It is a slight on this committee, which I think is indicative of the sort of attitude that organisation has towards the public. I feel strongly about this aspect, but I will leave this point here. I appreciate I am not privy to whatever advice the Leas-Chathaoirleach was given, but I suspect I may know what it was.

I sincerely thank the witnesses from the IAA for coming in and for the comprehensive statement provided. It contains a great deal of information for the public and it will clarify a great deal for many people. I wish to return to some remarks made by Deputy Duncan Smith. He quite rightly pointed out that the committee and the public have been provided with information by the DAA regarding its surprise concerning what occurred in August 2022.

I ask the next part of my question in the context of what has been said by the witnesses. For the purposes of description, the IAA is a planning authority. An applicant, the DAA, came to it and made an application. Rather than grant permission, the IAA verified that the permission was in line with the EASA guidance. For the purposes, therefore, of the context of the 70° to 75° divergence referred to in 2022 and as the representatives of the DAA told us about, privately and publicly, and the public via emails in response to direct queries, has something changed since the time before 28R became operational? I refer to how the process for approving or verifying an SID has taken place. I cannot ask the witnesses if they believe it is credible, but I think Mr. Fitzpatrick might understand what I am getting at. Would the DAA have known, or rather, should that organisation have known that aircraft would be departing and then banking by up to 75° when using 28R?