Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy requested information and I am imparting it to him. If that is not happening - and I agree that in some cases it is not - the body that will enforce that and to which people should report, is the Commission for Aviation Regulation. Currently, however, as people are in very difficult circumstances, it will not be much good to them to report to the Commission for Aviation Regulation and get compensation afterwards. Through my Department therefore I have been in contact with airlines where complaints have been made. I have to say that I have only received complaints about one airline - and it is not the one we would normally expect - concerning a lack of information and people not being able to get through to get information from it. I do not think the amount of information being made available from, or contact with, the airline is sufficient. Airline management will say that because of the major difficulties as a result of the number of people caught in different places, many of their systems, such as telephone systems, are having difficulty coping.

The bodies responsible for ensuring clear air space over Ireland and Europe are the various aviation authorities. They were in action from the word "go" in this regard. Eurocontrol is the organisation responsible for the safety of air traffic in central Europe and it was in close contact with the various air traffic control bodies in all areas. Together, they make the decisions on operational matters. I heard the captain of the flight that went through volcanic ash some years ago say on radio today that politicians should stay out of such decisions because they are made on the basis of scientific advice. The scientific advice available was to the effect that there should be no flights. It is only when it was anticipated that the ash would start to disperse that the need for a political decision arose. The European Union Presidency arranged the teleconference yesterday for that reason and a decision was made as a result.

The Deputy asked how wide the various zones were. The extent of the zones depends on the ash, its dispersal and the cloud. The primary or no-fly zone is the area immediately around the volcano. The second zone is the area covered by the ash cloud. Maps are produced on a daily basis and these track the ash cloud. The area involved becomes the buffer zone and when it is deemed safe to fly in that zone, flights will be allowed. The size or width of the zones varies, depending on the ash in the air.

Some people feel we over reacted. It is easy for people to say that now. However, if a plane crashed in Irish air space, I am sure I would be here trying to explain why I had not told the aviation authority to close down Irish air space. It would be a similar case if a crash occurred in Europe. It is very easy for people with no responsibility in this matter to say we over reacted. I refute and reject that. We operated and reacted in accordance with the general scientific advice available. However, the specifics of the cloud of ash over Ireland had to be measured and we had to obtain the scientific data. The precautionary principle was applied and I believe it was the correct approach.

On the Deputy's final point, it will be some time before the cost to airlines and airports can be fully measured, because it is an ongoing situation. I have seen estimates for Aer Lingus of a possible loss of €5 million a day, but some of that loss will be made up when flights are resumed. A loss in the region of from €7 million to €10 million per day has been projected for Ryanair and a loss of from €15 million to €20 million a day for British Airways. The airports are also losing revenue, as are the retail outlets in the airports. Tourism will also lose out in some way, but this loss may be compensated for by the fact that some people are staying home for holidays and some tourists have been delayed here. There are swings and roundabouts with regard to the problem. The damage from an economic and export point of view, if any, will not be known for some time.

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