Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are still at least 47 vacancies in the Air Corps. When will personnel be in place for the Air Corps to be in a position to provide 24-hour top cover whenever they receive a request for such assistance? When does the Minister of State expect the 12 trainee controllers to be in place to provide the 24-hour duties?

Can he confirm that before qualifying a controller is only allowed work on a tower while accompanied until they he or she has obtained the rank of sergeant or higher, thus, causing a further delay in restoring that full cover? What are the qualifications needed for Air Corps personnel to qualify as an approach radar sergeant? Is it the current policy to allow only commissioned officers to be trained as radar guided intercept controllers and has this contributed to CATSO losing its capacity to control air traffic as a result of lapsed licences, something which is not just related to a service level agreement?

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