Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Irish Aviation Authority, a State organisation, granted the college a licence to operate. The authority was charged with ensuring the company had sufficient resources to provide training safely. The college never had the resources required for students to complete their courses. We now face a debacle in that a large number of people are left stranded abroad with huge debts. They are unable to complete their training and education. This comprises a considerable issue for them. We met many of them outside Leinster House and they told us stories about borrowing money and of their being up to their eyes in hock. It is just unacceptable.

To what extent did the Irish Aviation Authority scrutinise PTC when it decided to grant it a licence? There is an onus on the State to address this because the authority is a State institution that needs to be made accountable for what happened.

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