Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Catherine Murphy. I take her point about wider and differing views in the workforce. Obviously, we cannot have 20 representatives of various bodies. That would be a problem. However, we want to embrace as many as possible. It might be a good idea to have someone from ICTU or one of the largest unions there. We do not want to provoke some sort of inter-union jealously, but we do want the workforce to be seriously represented. I will ensure that it is.

That said, we do not want to provoke a civil war of any sort there either. We will do all that we possibly can to ensure that all those voices, particularly of those who have been put on a three-day week or who have lost their jobs, are represented and that they get feedback from the task force. It is very important that it has a wide footprint.

The Deputy asked a question about who makes the rules. There are some guidelines and protocols, to which I referred in my opening remarks, for when the airlines return to normal operations on 20 May. The EU has a big part to play and we should co-ordinate properly with Europe. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency, EASA, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, ECDC, jointly published guidance on measures to ensure the health and safety of air travellers and aviation personnel once airlines resume regular flight schedules, which is what the Deputy was referring to in her question. The Department, through the national facilitation committee, is co-ordinating the implementation of the guidelines by industry to promote health and virus control in aviation, with due regard to the maintenance of aviation safety and security standards. These guidelines seek to propose certain measures including increased sanitation measures in both aircraft and airports; the implementation of physical distancing, where possible-----

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