Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their time. I will focus on the role the IAA has in consumer protection. I know of many cases where people have had difficulties securing their entitlements from airlines where there have been flight cancellations or delays. I was engaging with the IAA quite recently on a case where a family’s flights for a family holiday were cancelled by Ryanair. I will use this case as an example because it is particularly shocking. The airline tried to misinform this person about their rights under the EU regulation on a number of different occasions and refused to act on its responsibility to provide alternative travel plans. When she complained to the IAA, she was initially told that this issue was outside of the IAA’s remit. It took her informing the IAA of this regulation for the IAA to then agree to act on her complaint. The IAA told her it may take six months to investigate. Will the witnesses briefly outline the IAA’s role in enforcing the regulation? Does the IAA take that role seriously? How long does it typically take to investigate complaints made under the regulation?