John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Bill 2005, which will improve and modernise the European air traffic control management system. I observed significant changes when I worked in air traffic control at Dublin Airport between 1971 and 1979. There have been further changes in the 1990s and in this decade. I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, who is promoting this legislation. It is clear from his comments that he has a good grasp of this issue. Anyone who visits the air traffic control facilities at Dublin, Shannon or Cork airports will see that, unlike in the 1970s, the Government now recognises the need to invest on a regular basis in air traffic control procedures and work practices. When I think of the early 1970s, I remember the poor equipment that was used by air traffic control personnel. Those who are currently in charge of the control services at Dublin, Shannon, Cork and Knock airports are people with whom I started working in 1971. It is a tribute to the training programmes in the Irish system that people in their 40s or early 50s are now in charge of the services in question. I refer to people like Mr. Eamonn O'Malley, who is in charge of the service at Knock Airport; Mr. John McGrath, who works at Shannon Airport; Mr. P. J. Walsh and Mr. Donie Mooney, who have senior positions in the air traffic service; Mr. Tom Quinn, who works at Dublin Airport; Mr. Norman Lynch; Mr. Tom Mageedy and Mr. Terry Traynor. They were trained in the 1970s by Irish people who had seen service during the Second World War and who brought their expertise to the Irish air traffic control system and passed it on to the present incumbents.

We often take for granted the huge strides which have been made in air traffic control services in this State. It is worth remembering that a few years ago, air traffic separation at Dublin Airport relied totally on primary radar. The air traffic controller in possession relied on the signal being picked up on the field and transmitted to the radar screen. Quite often, the signal was not brought back to the site in poor weather conditions or if other difficulties intervened. Members will understand that substantial problems developed in such circumstances. It should be recognised that Government investment has ensured that air navigation aids such as radar equipment have improved at Dublin Airport and throughout the entire air traffic control service. Nobody foresaw the huge increase in air traffic. Just 1 million passengers passed through Dublin Airport in 1979, but approximately 10 million passengers are expected to do so this year. It is clear that there has been a huge increase in air traffic. I estimate that the number of landings and take-offs has increased by five times since 1979. Air traffic control personnel have been properly trained during that time to meet the substantially increased demand. Such personnel are not inclined to speak about their jobs, but I feel obliged to remind the House of the need to give them every support. We should continue to monitor the significant increases in the air traffic management workload and be prepared for further increases and the problems which might arise as a result.

I was invited to Dublin Airport by my former colleagues last April for the official opening of the new control tower and centre. I was delighted to hear at first hand that there is no shortage of Government investment in the Irish air traffic control services. I do not say that as a Government backbencher who is trying to plámás his senior colleagues. If anyone who was familiar with the services in the 1970s visits the air traffic control centres now in place, he or she will realise that improvements have quite properly taken place. All of our airfields now benefit from the most modern air navigation aids, as well as the most up-to-date computerised secondary surveillance radar and supports. I am delighted to maintain regular contact with my former colleagues and to see many improvements being made. I am particularly pleased that the air traffic control service has recruited some women. It is good that workers can now be promoted to positions of responsibility after two or three years of service. One would have had to wait for eight or nine years in the 1970s. The decision to move air traffic control out of the Civil Service and into the semi-State sector in 1994 was wise. Many of the senior air traffic controllers working today in Eurocontrol in Brussels and Luxembourg were people whom I joined in 1971.

This Bill will help prevent delays throughout the air traffic control network in Europe. An estimated 350,000 flight hours a year are wasted due to inefficient air traffic management. The thinking behind the Bill is to ensure safety, efficiency and more importantly, a regular gauge on the service and its personnel. References have been made to time-slot delays and I remember, from my days working in Dublin Airport in the 1970s, the difficulties arising when aircraft were given time-slots to take off. There may have been a number of reasons that the aircraft could not make its take-off slot and it would often have to remain on the tarmac for an hour or more. In the heat of the summer, that would cause much frustration. The purpose of the Bill is to reduce these inefficiencies and delays and to make better use of limited airspace and limited time. While the standard separation criteria of five miles lateral or 1,000 feet vertical is all very well, we must remember that with the growing number of aircraft, there is always a temptation to reduce these separation limits. It is something we should always monitor.

The Bill is also about improved safety and modernising Eurocontrol. Over the last few years, we have witnessed major agreements and treaties between EU and non-EU countries. For example, improvements in police policy have occurred as Interpol is a recognition of the need to bring together the thinking within different states. As a natural follow-on, we should also deal with the organisation that deals with control of the growing number of aircraft. Eurocontrol is the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. Its primary objective is to develop a seamless air traffic control management system for air traffic across Europe. I welcome the Bill. It is timely that we deal with the ever increasing numbers using air traffic control.

From my days at training school, I recall a sign hanging on the wall, put there by the instructor at the school at the time, the late Tom Donovan, which read "eternal vigilance is the price of safety". It surely was in the 1970s and it certainly is now. We support the Eurocontrol convention and its provisions, but this is not about losing control of our airspace. The objectives of this Bill do not prejudice the principle that every state has complete sovereignty over its airspace, nor the capacity of each state to exercise its prerogatives with regard to securing and defending its natural airspace. The accession of the EU to Eurocontrol has brought about co-operation between the two organisations and must be welcomed for a number of reasons, such as the implementation of the single European sky directive, for research and development and for data collection and analysis in the areas of air traffic statistics, satellite navigation and international co-operation in the fields of aviation. The proposed single European sky is something we should all welcome.

I welcome the provisions of the Bill, congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, who has taken this initiative, and congratulate the Government on its continued levels of investment in air traffic control.

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