Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be sharing time with Deputy Shanahan with approximately 15 minutes for me before I hand over to him for the last five minutes.

I thank the Minister of State for attending the Chamber to introduce the Air Navigation and Transport Bill. It is important legislation, in that it upgrades and modernises the regulatory framework for the aviation sector and brings us back in line with our European peers. It is long overdue and, therefore, very welcome. I look forward to supporting its passage through the Dáil.

The Bill is important because the aviation sector is important, particularly to this country. If one were to ask anyone in the country what the most important industry here was, he or she would probably point to the large technology firms around Dublin or the large pharmaceutical companies in Cork, but not many people recognise how important and large the aviation sector is on our island home. As the Minister of State pointed out, Ireland is a major hub for aircraft leasing across the world. Europe's largest airline, for all its imperfections, is headquartered in Ireland. Not only that, but Irish citizens dominate the boardrooms of airlines across the world from Etihad Airways to Qantas in Australia. From an Irish perspective, we are punching above our weight.

Ireland is the global hub of the airline industry, but apart from the commercial aspects, we have a major historical and societal connection with it. A little more than 100 years ago, Alcock and Brown landed in a bog in Clifden. We have had an affection for and association with the airline industry as a result. We are fascinated by it, and that is a good thing. I mention this because it is the context in which our debate should be held. Aviation is important to this country.

I will raise three points with the Minister of State in the time available to me. The first will relate to Aer Lingus, the second to the security and safety aspects of the sector and the third to funding options for enhancing the public sector's ability to provide the safety and security services listed in the Bill.

Regarding Aer Lingus, I was happy to hear the Minister of State's comments about the potential for additional support if required. I am sure she is well aware that the company is under considerable and acute financial liquidity stress, and for good reason - it is complying with the laws issued by Dáil Éireann, in that it is reducing its level of passenger transport in and out of the country. I fully understand the commercial realities, in that the State is no longer a significant or formal shareholder in the company, but I believe that we still have a financial responsibility, and definitely a moral responsibility, to its staff. Whatever the corporate arrangements, Aer Lingus is for all intents and purposes still Ireland's national carrier. Every time an aircraft with a shamrock on its tail fin lands at any airfield in the world, it is promoting and advertising Ireland. The company also flies hundreds of thousands of visitors into the country annually in a normal year, be they business leaders or just tourists coming to spend some time in Ireland. There is a symbiotic relationship between the airline and this country. Aer Lingus's survival is important from Ireland's perspective. The time for a financial intervention is here.

I was happy to hear the Minister of State's suggestion and that she has an open mind towards additional financial support. May I be so bold as to offer three suggestions that she might wish to consider? Other European countries have bailed out their national flag carriers. If it is good enough for Germany, it is certainly good enough for Ireland. Perhaps taking an equity stake in the airline is a possibility to get it through the acute financial situation it will be in over the next few months, but I appreciate the state aid constraints that might apply to a financial bailout from a loan or equity perspective. As such, I will offer two further options. It is acknowledged that the State needs a strategic aircraft to move its people around.

It could very easily be flown by the Air Corps and it could be used on a cross-governmental basis. For instance, the Department of Foreign Affairs could use an aircraft to evacuate Irish citizens from abroad, which it has done a number of times over the past 12 months, Irish Aid could very easily use an aircraft to transport aid overseas, and the HSE could use an aircraft to pick up personal protective equipment or to move casualties from one hospital to another internationally. The State recognises, and the former Taoiseach and current Tánaiste also recognised approximately 12 months ago in the Dáil, that we need a national strategic aircraft for this purpose. If Aer Lingus has so many surplus aircraft on the ground unused at present, would it not make sense for the State to purchase one of these aircraft from it for this purpose? The stars are aligning from this point of view. We should seize the day. It is in the interests of Aer Lingus and Ireland. My question to the Minister of State is: what are we waiting for?

We could use Aer Lingus more effectively to rotate Irish peacekeeping troops abroad. There are three return rotation flights due between Dublin and Beirut international airport in the next three months. I cannot remember the last time Aer Lingus was used to rotate Irish troops. This would be a wonderful opportunity to provide some liquidity support to Aer Lingus via commercial means. Instead of Irish troops being flown home by unreliable airlines that do not have the same reliability or punctuality requirements, Aer Lingus should certainly be used if at all possible. Even in the short term, if it cannot be used to rotate Irish troops from Beirut in the next three months perhaps we could look at entering a longer-term service level agreement over a five to ten year time horizon, whereby Aer Lingus could be used preferentially to rotate our peacekeeping troops. It could be paid upfront to provide this service. These are three suggestions with regard to Aer Lingus that the Minister of State might wish to consider. Obviously she will have to discuss the matter with her Defence Cabinet colleagues, namely, the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers, and the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney. I would be grateful for the Minister of State's thoughts on these suggestions, perhaps when she wraps up next week.

The next broad theme I would like to discuss is with regard to the comments in the Bill on safety and security. It is a major issue for the country because there is an obligation on every nation state to be able to police its land, territorial waters and airspace. With regard to policing our airspace we are hugely negligent. There is a major gap in our security from this perspective. It is probably something we should look at filling, particularly when we are discussing it with regard to the Bill. We have no primary military grade radar. We are unique in Europe as of the EU 27 we are the only country that does not have this capability and it needs to be addressed. We do have secondary civilian radar but once the transponder of an aircraft is turned off we have no sight and no visibility with regard to where it is. Not only is it a flight security issue, it is certainly also a flight safety issue that needs to be addressed. There is a commitment in the 2015 White Paper on defence to purchase a primary radar system for the country but we have yet to see one materialise. Perhaps it is something the Minister of State might wish to discuss with her Cabinet colleagues.

We have no intercept and escort capability whatsoever. It is just ourselves and Malta in Europe that do not have this capability. If an unidentified aircraft, a hijacked aircraft, a rogue aircraft or a smuggling type aircraft enters Irish airspace we have no means whatsoever to intercept it and escort it through our service. This is a major deficiency. Quite frankly, it is fairly humiliating that we have to use the Royal Air Force in a secret agreement to provide that service. It is a secret agreement for a reason because it is probably unconstitutional and if it were tested in the courts it would probably be found to be so. This is an area on which we have to work.

With regard to personnel in the public service who are involved in safety and security from an airspace perspective, we have no Air Corps reserve. We have an Army Reserve and a Naval Service Reserve but we have no Air Corps reserve due to an historic anomaly. I hope this is something the commission on defence could look at when it makes its report later this year. However, of the 15 people on the commission on defence not one has a background in aviation. This is a blind spot from the commission's perspective that I hope will be addressed by putting on an additional member in the coming weeks.

The next major theme I want to discuss is the funding model we could use to enhance the safety and security of our airspace. The first option is very simple and straightforward, which is to increase the defence Vote. I am very happy to see the defence budget was increased by €32 million this year for 2021. I still have no sight or visibility on where that money will be spent but certainly an investment in the safety and security of our airspace would be a good starting point. Where the Department of Transport comes in is that the Irish Aviation Authority charges navigational fees for every aircraft that travels through Irish airspace and makes a profit of approximately €20 million to €30 million in a normal year without a pandemic. I would be grateful for the Minister of State's thoughts on whether this money could be ring-fenced to support our airspace services. It is the same principle as a toll bridge. People who drive on an Irish motorway pay a toll charge and this money is used to offset the initial investment cost and it is also used for maintenance. It makes sense if we are taxing aircraft that travel through our airspace that the tax is used to protect the aircraft, from a service and security point of view.

Is there any way the Department of Transport could eliminate or reduce excess costs? This is where the search and rescue contract comes in. The company that provides helicopter services to the Coast Guard at present is providing an excellent service and there are wonderful people on board. The problem with the contract is that it is really expensive. For the past ten years it has cost approximately €600 million and negotiations are ongoing for another ten year period from 2023, which could cost up to €1 billion because it will most likely include fixed wing and rotary wing assets. It does not make any sense to invest in a private international firm to provide helicopters for a fixed period of time. It would make much more sense to internalise this capability into a sovereign service provided either by the Coast Guard or the Air Corps. The Air Corps should be tasked with providing this service from 2023 onwards and any gaps the Air Corps cannot meet could very easily be outsourced. A bill of €1 billion is massive. It is equivalent of half the cost of a children's hospital and at the end of the ten years we will have absolutely nothing to show for it. My suggestion, and I give it freely, is to invest in our public services to provide this service rather than to outsource it to an international firm that does not need the additional revenue.

I thank the Minister of State for hearing me out. I will definitely support the Bill as it goes through the Oireachtas. It is something of which I am very much in favour. The issues I covered included financial support for Aer Lingus, if at all possible. The commercial case alone is compelling, let alone the economic case for Ireland. I also mentioned the fact we need to upgrade our airspace safety and security capacity. This needs to be done as soon as possible. I also explored some funding models to take the edge off this cost and make sure it is affordable from Ireland's point of view.

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