Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply, although the information provided does not give any comfort to the parents and students who find themselves with an enormous financial burden.

I refer to young people who accepted a place with the PTC in the belief that it had the backing of the State, not just in terms of the regulatory role of the Irish Aviation Authority. The Minister said that, as part of the authority's remit, it would have to determine whether the PTC had sufficient resources to provide training. One wonders whether it was possible at the outset to establish whether there were sufficient resources to ensure the training of potential pilots.

In recent weeks, it has been reported in public that another training company has been established in Waterford. It has a very similar name, Clearsky Pilot Training College Limited. From company records, it appears to have a set of directors similar to that of its predecessor. This is of particular concern to the parents. Will the company seek to be recognised by the Irish Aviation Authority? If so, will the authority be compelled to provide it with the necessary credentials provided that it is technically able to provide training to prospective pilots? Will there be capacity in this instance to deal with the issue of providing sufficient resources?

From a couple of perspectives, we need more clarity. We need to know whether the law is strong enough to protect against the phoenix-like emergence of a new company. Without more evidence, I do not want to repeat some of the allegations that have been made about the stripping of assets and resources of one company in order to provide for the establishment of another. This would be very serious if it were true. Does the Irish Aviation Authority have appropriate investigative powers and other appropriate powers to prevent what I described from happening?

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