Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

It is clear that there are deep problems with both of the existing regulatory bodies in aviation, the CAR and the IAA. In theory, amalgamating both in a wide-sweeping change has merit but whether this Bill and the reasoning behind it addresses the weaknesses in both is certainly questionable. Equally, it has long been pointed out by workers and others that IAA was fundamentally compromised in regulating airlines to which it was dependent for its funding. In theory, separating those functions, such as air traffic control, from its safety and other functions and its oversight of those airlines sounds like a good idea. The issue is whether the new authority will regulate in the interests of both workers in the industry and ordinary people in terms of safety, etc., and on that I have concerns.

To start with, the problems with both regulatory authorities are the same with many of the State's other regulatory bodies. They follow a light touch self-regulation model. They fail to enforce the rules and standards that protect people, specifically workers. We have a Health and Safety Authority, for example, that had to be dragged into workplaces during the pandemic, continues to take a hands-off approach when confronted with glaring breaches of safety that threaten workers and even now insists it will not close workplaces in breach of regulations. It cannot determine anything in terms of whether workplaces are essential. It cannot make determinations in terms of workers working from home. One could also go on for a long time about banking and financial regulation in this country or the health services regulator and the failures there. This is across all sectors of the State. We have a light touch, often non-existent, regulatory approach to many business interests because we have one of the most neoliberal states in Europe.

In aviation, we have many reasons to be concerned. We have a Commission for Aviation Regulation responsible for regulating the airlines which has consistently let Ryanair off the hook and which refused to take legal action against the airline when it broke the rules because it did not want to risk it for fear Ryanair would stop co-operating with it. This was three years ago when the airline cancelled thousands of flights. The UK's regulator said the airline had misled its passengers about their consumer rights but the Irish regulators, yet again, were too cosy with Ryanair to notice. Over the past year, we have had Ryanair and others dragging their heels on paying out refunds and little or nothing being done by the regulators. It seems there is one law for the rich and another for the rest of us.

The failures of the IAA to regulate are even more worrying. I will cite two examples. First, despite being repeatedly told by workers in the sector that there are health and safety issues with the work practices of one specific airline it not only failed to examine or take the issues seriously, but attacked a Channel 4 documentary outlining those issues and sided firmly with Ryanair in that dispute. The use of zero-hour contracts, the constant pressure and stress placed on pilots and the use, which, I believe, has been abandoned since, of league tables on pilots fuel use designed to pressurise them into potentially unsafe practices all were deemed not worthy of the regulator's attention.

More worrying is the question mark that remains over the role of the IAA in the tragedy of the Blackrock crash, when four Irish Coast Guard crew tragically died when a helicopter crashed in 2017. Years after that tragedy, relatives and loved ones are still awaiting answers. Why do we still not have the formal report? We are told that the report was sent to interested parties in September 2019, one such party against whom there are adverse findings has raised objections and this is delaying the finalising of the report. This is outrageous. I would ask the Ministe.r to prioritise the publication of the investigation and to act on its findings. At this stage, it is unacceptable that anyone would seek to delay the report's findings coming out. What we know is that there are very serious questions here. A Katie Hannon report on the RTÉ website from 2017 states:

RTÉ’s Prime Time has reported that new maps published by the Irish Aviation Authority contain errors which the authority was alerted to.

Nine days after the R116 crashed into Blackrock Island, the IAA was informed that Sceilg Mhichíl was depicted on their maps. Last July, the IAA told Prime Time that after the discovery of the error, a "review of all other coastal islands was conducted and their data verified.

"No further anomalies of substance were found."

However, there were other substantial anomalies on the maps.

The report goes into detail on a number of those anomalies.

This new body must co-operate fully with the investigators in the air accident unit and aid the publication as soon as possible of the report. It is to be hoped that this new authority can cast aside that past and do the job that, in theory, it is meant to do - protect workers and consumers and ensure safety in aviation.

I will conclude by raising the question of who will head up this authority. Given the problems I have outlined in the past with the IAA and the CAR and their hands-off approach to regulating or being in conflict with the largest airline in this country, I have to ask whether it is appropriate that we appoint as head a person who is a former CEO of Malta Air, a company in the Ryanair group. How on earth can the Government justify appointing a CEO from the Ryanair airline group as the new head? That is not to cast any doubt on the personal qualities of the individual.

At least in terms of perception, though, it looks like a case of asking the fox to guard the hen house.

The pay for the head of this regulator is ludicrous. It was previously reported that the salary would be almost €400,000 per year. Is that still the case?

We have seen the revolving door between the Cabinet table and corporate lobbying, with former Ministers of State now heading up lobbying for so-called investment managers as well as the banks. There is also a revolving door between big business and the regulators. We know that the company involved, Ryanair, has an appalling record of mistreating workers and passengers and putting profits before safety, yet one of its former senior people is now being put in charge of protecting the safety of all passengers and airline workers. It is ludicrous. This is just another example of the cosy relationship between the regulators and those they are meant to be regulating. We saw where that got us in terms of the banks. Yet again, we have a Government that is in the pockets of the rich putting profit before people.

These are not historical issues. During the Covid pandemic, Ryanair launched an attack on trade union members. It sacked several for union activity, tore up workers' contracts and took an appallingly cavalier attitude towards health and Covid measures. I do not at all blame the particular individual for that or for Mr. O'Leary's more outrageous attacks on public health advice, but I question the appropriateness of the State appointing a person from a business group that has aggressively dismissed public health concerns and sacked trade union members.

I welcome that climate policies will be a new consideration of the authority, but this and the implications for airport charges and so on need to be spelled out more explicitly in the Bill.

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