James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I will be brief because many questions have been asked. I could not agree more with the Minister in acknowledging safety as our first consideration. The annual income of the Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, is €154 million. Last year, it made €15.4 million in profit. The system, which cost €115 million, is only five years old and has broken down five times in five weeks. An investigation into this situation is required. I have been given to understand that the answer may lie in the fact that the IAA upgraded its computer software a number of weeks ago, since when there have been intermittent computer malfunctions. Will the Minister inform the House whether this is true? If it is the truth, why has the old software not been put back in place given that normal practice is to keep old software until new software has been proven to function properly?

I empathise with the thousands of people who have been delayed, particularly the elderly and those travelling with children at a busy time of the year. Who will pay and why is there no back-up system? In radiotherapy, we insist that every facility has two linear accelerators lest one breaks down.

An external independent investigation is clearly required because nothing less will reassure the travelling public. The safety of hundreds of thousands of people is at stake. We must all ensure that taxpayers' money is spent appropriately. The Minister should ensure that the investigation is independent and that its report is made available to the House in a timely fashion.

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