Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State. On behalf of Fine Gael, I welcome the introduction of this legislation, which asks us to ratify a European convention. We are late in the day to do so. I understand from the Minister of State that there is a certain urgency about it and Fine Gael will not delay the Bill's passage through the House.

This is one of those Bills in which the media has no interest and about which the public knows nothing. Nevertheless, the Eurocontrol organisation is vital to the operation of modern society and plays a key role in safety and the continuation of business, travel and so on. As such, this is important legislation.

While welcoming the Bill and the changes it makes, Fine Gael has some difficulties with the powers the Bill confers on Eurocontrol. It is a vital body in the regulation of air traffic across the Continent and I wish to record my regard for the work it does. Everyone appreciates its work in managing the system and ensuring the safety of every air traveller. As far as I am aware, the system is unique in the world and is a model for aeronautical and air traffic control co-operation.

As the European organisation for the safety of air navigation, Eurocontrol has been central to the successful development of a seamless pan-European air traffic management system. It is to be lauded and praised for the manner in which it has coped with the significant increase in the amount of air traffic in recent years. It delivers a wide range of services to the aviation community in the very broadest sense. It is no small task to co-ordinate the 35 national aviation authorities.

In addition to joint aviation authorities, those involved include hundreds of airports, airlines ranging in size from single aircraft to medium-sized airline companies such as Aer Lingus to enormous international characters such as Air France, KLM, Lufthansa and British Airways, private and military aircraft, the aeronautical industry, the European Aviation Safety Authority, NATO, the European Space Agency, the European Commission, the International Civil Aviation Authority and many more. For that work and the processing of the average 25,000 daily flights, I understand that Eurocontrol has more than 2,000 staff. To put that in perspective, it is on the scale of more than 9 million flights per year. Therefore, Eurocontrol's role and contribution is significant.

When this matter was discussed in the Seanad, a particular aspect of the convention that gives rise to concerns among the industry here was focused on. Irish operators take their responsibilities to Eurocontrol and the industry as a whole quite seriously. While I would like to praise our airlines and charter companies for their conscientiousness in dealing with Eurocontrol, there are carriers in Europe that take a less responsible view and are less conscientious, especially when it comes to the payment of dues to Eurocontrol for the use and management of the air traffic control system. As a result, there have been examples of airline companies that have refused to pay their fees to Eurocontrol to the tune of many millions of euro. I cite the example of an Italian airline that recently became insolvent, leaving Eurocontrol with an outstanding debt of €17 million.

People who do not pay their debts are unreliable and are the last type of people one would want involved in the aviation industry, running airlines and transporting passengers. They should be named and shamed. Where possible, airports should make it clear early on that they will not co-operate in future business with airlines defaulting on Eurocontrol bills and fees to airports.

However, some of the blame for the accumulation of very large debts must lie at the door of Eurocontrol itself. It must be vigilant and timely in its debt collection systems. We would not be sympathetic to any business that, having allowed large debts to accumulate, began to moan and seek draconian powers to improve its ability to collect when it did not make any efforts at an early stage. It inevitably increases the cost to all compliant users of the service around Europe. It would be grossly unfair for them to take up the cost of what has not been paid by defaulting airlines. Timely and efficient debt collection is important but particularly so within an international organisation.

When this Bill went through the Seanad, a number of my colleagues raised issues with the former Minister of State at the Department of Transport who said he would examine the matters before the Bill came to the Dáil or moved on to Committee Stage. Fine Gael's overall support for the Bill is predicated on the provision of a number of changes as a result of the Minister for Transport's consideration since it went through the Seanad. From what the Minister of State said this morning, it seems that some of those expressed concerns have not been addressed. I have not had time to examine his statement in detail. I am concerned about this matter. Amendments will be pressed on Committee Stage.

Section 4 of the Bill repeals section 67 of the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993. This pertains to the detention of aircraft and extending this power to Eurocontrol. In repealing that section, it is not clear whether the power to detain aircraft is being removed altogether or this provision simply removes that power from Eurocontrol. If this is the case, the situation would not appear to be fair or even-handed and would be at variance with the thrust of the legislation. It would compound an existing problem. As I understand it, the purpose of the legislation is merely to transpose the convention into Irish law. Will the Minister reconsider the position on this matter and clarify it on Committee Stage?

Eurocontrol can and will be able to collect unpaid charges from those airlines that do not discharge their debts by creating a lien on the aircraft belonging to them. Fine Gael and many in the industry have a problem in that Eurocontrol can register those debts, not just against the defaulting airline but third parties who are in no way responsible for incurring the debts in the first place. This is where a third party is perhaps the owner of an aircraft but not the operator, is the owner of any part of the aircraft — it is quite common to have a separate owner for the engine — or has merely leased the aircraft to an airline. The defaulter is, in fact, the airline operator. In such a case, the owner of the aircraft, any part of the aircraft or the lessor of the aircraft has no role in incurring the charges in the first place. For example, if A leases an aircraft to airline B and airline B fails to pay the charges due to Eurocontrol, the agency can seize the aircraft of A to satisfy the debt of B. Eurocontrol can pursue A, which may not be the owner but has leased a small part of the aircraft from the owner.

This is against natural justice and should not be allowed to persist. To be even-handed, Fine Gael would not support a situation where this power would be available either to Eurocontrol or the national airports. It is not an appropriate power to give to anyone in pursuit of a debt.

Similarly, it seems that the Dublin Airport Authority and the other airports can ground aircraft where the airline has defaulted on landing charges to any Irish airport authority. Not only does this go beyond what is required of us in the convention, it goes well beyond powers given to airports in any other country and can only act to the detriment of Irish business by making Ireland a much less attractive venue for those financing, servicing or providing parts to aircraft.

As it stands, if this principle were to be enshrined further in Irish law, it would represent an inequitable legal burden on lessors and an inadequate responsibility on lessees and operators. Furthermore and probably more seriously, this Bill would create circumstances wherein there is no incentive for Eurocontrol to expeditiously collect moneys due to it as it will always have recourse elsewhere to institutions, bodies and companies that are more reliable than the defaulting operator against which it has a genuine case. If a company that owes money and has defaulted becomes insolvent, as is quite likely, Eurocontrol can turn with the greatest of ease to another corporation and pursue it in law even though it had no role in incurring the debt. This allows Eurocontrol to be inefficient in the collection of its dues and it is in nobody's interest that Eurocontrol should be given this additional avenue of debt collection that is not available to any other company in any sector. No one should be able to ground aircraft to cover the debts of others. It seems the Minister is rejecting these concerns and I ask him to reconsider. It would appear there is no need to give this additional debt collection power to Eurocontrol. It already has a significant success rate in collecting unpaid fees and it is not clear why it needs further assistance in this regard.

The most serious aspect is that it would put Ireland in a position where it would have gone further than any other country in providing Eurocontrol with powers to seize and to dispose of assets. As a result, the legislation would undermine any claims by Ireland that it supports the aerospace industry. Irish companies have fought hard to attract maintenance and repair business to the country. Making Ireland a country where aircraft are more likely to be grounded and held as a lien against the debts of others would make it extremely difficult to attract business into this country. Ireland would be an unpopular place to allow a company's aircraft to land and this is an unnecessary liability to Irish companies and is simply bad business for airlines as they would choose to avoid Irish airports wherever possible. The former Minister of State promised he would look at this issue when he steered the Bill through Committee Stage in Seanad Éireann and I ask the current Minister to reconsider before the debate on Committee Stage.

I wish to avoid tabling amendments in order to deal with this situation but I will have to do so if the concerns raised are not satisfied. These amendments are minor in the context of bringing this convention into Irish law and we will support this.

The Minister in his speech said:

The Bill amends the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993 and also makes provision for related matters. Specifically, the Bill reflects changes in the management structure of Eurocontrol and provides for the making of regulations requiring the Irish Aviation Authority to comply with any conditions laid down for the operation of a common European air traffic flow management system at a common international centre.

I presume this refers to the single sky policy and the regulatory framework, which I support. I have difficulties with granting further responsibilities to the Irish Aviation Authority in view of concerns expressed recently, arising either from the recent reporting of a number of incidents or the growth of low cost airlines. Although the incidents were not recent they were recently reported together. Some concern was expressed in the industry and I believe the chairman of the Irish Airline Pilots Association was quoted in a recent article as stating that safety in Irish aviation is being eroded. This is an extreme statement and I have no way of knowing if he is correct. We must examine what concerns this association has. If the Irish Aviation Authority does not have the resources to deal with these problems, given the growth in flights to, from and over Ireland, perhaps the Minister should liaise with those in the industry who express these concerns. I make this point in respect of the Minister's point that the Bill "provides for the making of regulations requiring the Irish Aviation Authority to comply with any conditions". If we are asking the authority to comply with further conditions and undertake additional work, we must ensure it has the resources and technical expertise necessary to deal with the challenges that lie ahead. I do not wish to criticise the Irish Aviation Authority, which does a fantastic job.

I support this legislation and will support its passage through the House.

See this speech in context