Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 37 and 63 together.

On completion of the recent EU inspection of Dublin Airport, officials from my Department and the Dublin Airport Authority received an oral briefing on the findings of the inspection. I have received a report from my officials on the outcome of that debriefing. In accordance with established procedures and practice, my Department, the European Commission or the Dublin Airport Authority will not make any comment on the specific outcomes of the EU inspection. The European Commission will send a formal report to my Department in due course dealing with all relevant issues. This is a confidential security report and will not be published.

I am determined that any issues identified during the inspection will be remedied. Apart from the immediate remedial actions put in place during the inspection, I have instructed my officials to prepare an action plan in response to the Commission findings. This action plan has been prepared in consultation with the Dublin Airport Authority, airlines and other stakeholders. I expect all relevant authorities will fully engage and co-operate with my Department to ensure there is full and consistent application of the required security measures.

The House will understand that the nature of security precludes detailed discussion of measures. Therefore, I will not disclose the nature or extent of any security measures that have been implemented or the nature of any additional measures that are under consideration. However, I am satisfied that the DAA and airlines responded effectively and immediately to deficiencies identified during the inspection. In this regard, the DAA has appointed an international security firm to review security at Dublin Airport. I welcome the fact that it has done that. The National Civil Aviation Security Committee met last Thursday, 5 May 2005, and was briefed on the audit and the proposed action plan.

On the issue of delays, I have been advised that the DAA is monitoring passenger movement and controls to minimise inconvenience and delays and it is liaising closely with airlines. The authority has advised me that they will maximise the use of existing facilities and will endeavour to manage airport processes effectively to cope with the increasing passenger numbers passing through the terminal. The authority operates 14 X-ray screening points for passenger screening purposes, an increase of three new screening points since the EU inspection. Refurbishment works are under way to accommodate an additional two X-ray screening points and additional X-ray equipment has been ordered.

By June, 120 new staff will have been recruited for screening operations and 40 of these new staff have already been brought into live screening operation. The DAA has also implemented a queue management system for crowd control purposes. Airlines are co-operating by opening check-in desks earlier. I welcome this important measure. Passengers have also been encouraged to minimise the volume of hand baggage presented at the screening points, not to carry sharp objects and to co-operate with the instructions of screeners. The DAA has informed me that the queue times average 15 minutes at peak periods during weekdays and 25 minutes at the busiest holiday traffic period at the weekends. During off-peak periods passenger queue times average not more than five minutes.

I am committed to ensuring the highest standards of aviation security at our airports and I will ensure that the lessons learned from the EU inspection are taken on board. Specifically I will ensure that the security issues are addressed in co-operation with the relevant parties so that there is full confidence in the security arrangements and that those arrangements are managed in such a way as to minimise passenger inconvenience.

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