Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I thank Deputy McGrath for sharing time. It is a pity that we missed Deputy Brady's contribution. I welcome the former Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and now Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Gallagher, and wish him the best of luck in his new Ministry. Unfortunately for him, he is probably going out of the frying pan and into the fire, because in my experience of ten or 12 years of transport campaigns and debates, this is not an easy area in which to effect positive change. We are starting to pay the price for many years' wrong decisions. As an Opposition spokesperson I hope I can work with him in a positive and constructive manner. Where I have differences with him, I hope I will still be able to be critical in a civil and progressive manner.

I welcome the opportunity to support the introduction of this Bill and agree with its general intent of bringing into our legislation the agreed approach at European level to the proper control and navigation of our skies. That is something all Deputies, regardless of their views on other matters, will welcome. The Bill provides an opportunity, however, to raise a number of issues which will need political attention in future.

The first issue pertains to the connection between civil and military flights and our control of same. This extends into the wider area of foreign affairs policy. There is genuine and justified concern about the current involvement of this country in supporting a war in Iraq that is not justified, is damaging for all concerned and should end. It behoves us to examine any way, even if small or indirect, in which we support that war. The greatest query should concern the facilitation of overflights, particularly where no charge is made to countries availing of them, and the use of Shannon Airport as a major staging base for the preparation for military affairs in the war between the USA and the Iraqi people.

I read with interest on pages 21 and 22 of the Bill that there are provisions under the new Eurocontrol centre for navigation for a new civil-military interface standing committee. On page 22 it states that such a committee may delegate the powers to raise matters at any time as part of the general supervision of such overflights. Our party believes, as will have been evident from a series of questions by Deputy Gormley, that powers already exist under other international conventions for us to stop and examine airplanes, be they landing at Shannon or elsewhere, not to disregard the wishes of other nations but to stand by our foreign policy and what the Irish people would like to see. I regret that we have not taken that line and asserted our neutrality and independence. Were we to do so, it would be supported by the Irish people and I do not believe any nation would view that as an inappropriate or hostile act. If it did, it would speak more about its world view than ours. We should not be frightened of doing the right thing just because of the consequences that might flow from it.

I always avail of the opportunity when speaking on anything to do with aviation to point out the need to be honest about the implications for international transport of the two most serious looming threats to our economic well-being and development as well as to our environmental well-being. One is climate change and the real concern that we are emitting pollutants on a global level which threaten not only to tip the planet into an overheated state but also the very future of mankind. In that, the most significant factor is emissions from transport and the most significant element of those are emissions from aviation in that they contribute most to the greenhouse effect.

We cannot ignore that scientific reality. James Lovelock, a very eminent scientist who changed our perception of the planet more than anyone since possibly Charles Darwin, issued a remarkably stark picture of the immediate threat and the need for urgent action to reduce our emissions and pollution. We cannot talk about aviation, about the fact that air traffic is set to double in coming years and that Dublin Airport will go from 16 million passengers now to a projected 30 million in the near future, and not recognise the scientific analysis that acts as an ever more frequent and alarming warning bell. We will have to do something to regulate and decrease the amount of air travel we undertake. That is the scientific reality that needs to be stated, but it is not necessarily a negative reality.

Many friends and colleagues, who are the type of people IDA Ireland would wish to attract as they work in Europe but are based here, literally have high-flying careers. They fly out from Dublin Airport to Europe at 6 a.m. and return the same day. After doing that for some time, they start to question whether it is a clever way of doing business. Can we not use information technologies to reduce time spent flying, which after a while becomes a burden rather than a luxury? New and positive thinking is needed on reducing the numbers of flights in order to address the long-term issues of climate change and the fact that the kerosene which keeps aircraft in the air will become scarcer than it has been for the past 50 years.

Further to Deputy McGrath's comments on safety, if we should be concerned to ensure that the system is safe, we will need a co-ordinated air navigation system. The manner by which our common aviation system is kept in the air on a safe basis is a remarkable example of what may be achieved through international co-operation. I have greater concerns with regard to events on the ground. While the development of low cost carriers may be welcome in terms of providing cheap flights, there are increasing concerns that the pressure to keep prices as low as possible may lead to compromises in safety. We should be wary of cutting down on turn around times, staff rosters or control measures in order to shave half a cent of the price of a ticket. It would be a serious mistake in the long term if lives were lost due to poor safety standards. While low cost carriers have been rightly lauded from a consumer viewpoint, we have to be careful to ensure safety comes first in the rush to provide services as cheaply as possible.

It is remarkable that airline tickets from Cork to Dublin may be bought for one cent, which means, in effect, that only the tax must be paid, whereas a train ticket costs €60. A friend of mine explored the options of either flying or taking a train to Vienna and found a flight ticket for €150, whereas the train cost in the region of €550. In terms of the emissions and pollution being created by the aviation industry, we will have to start recognising the need for change as a reality. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, rather than lobbying the European Council of Environment Ministers on behalf of Ryanair, will have to be honest for the first time by saying that use, as well as safety and navigation, will have to be controlled. If we can use technology and, in a sense, time to order our lives in a way that protects the quality of our lives and environment, that need not lead to a negative result and that is what I stand for.

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