Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

The IAA has a responsibility for the safety of passengers in the air. Other bodies and organisations have responsibilities for looking after passengers on the ground. I do not know what level of communication there was between the IAA, the DAA and the airlines concerned. It is not the sole responsibility of the IAA to inform passengers of various airlines of what is happening other than that there may be delays. Where this body is trying to look after the safety of passengers it is not fair that it should be responsible for providing information directly to passengers on the ground. I do not accept this.

If the IAA provided information that these delays would occur, this information should have been passed on to passengers. I agree with the Deputy on this. Information should have been more forthcoming to passengers, who should have known the possible length of the delay. When this started, I am sure nobody knew how long it would last and there may have been initial confusion as the Deputy outlined. I would not contest this.

The matter of compensation for passengers is one for passengers themselves. I will not make commitments in this House that passengers can be compensated or that the IAA should compensate them. This is a matter for other bodies.

With regard to safety, the way the IAA responded to this incident makes it clear that safety is at the top of its agenda and is a priority for it. Part of the report I expect from the IAA on this matter will fully deal with safety and the safety of the system in the future.

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