Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to support the passage of the Bill. Institutional reform and restructuring of aviation policy is probably well overdue in this country. I was a member of the Covid committee and we spent quite a number of modules hearing from the aviation sector. We know the crisis in the sector due to Covid and it does not look like there will be any resolution of it soon. I know the Department is probably focused on this and I echo the calls of all Deputies seeking funding and additional grant aid for the airlines as well as to the airports.

Perhaps in the overall aviation sector it is now time to look again at the idea of what is in the programme for Government with regard to regional economic rebalancing in the aviation sector. I am thinking in particular of Waterford airport. The south-east regional airport has been awaiting funding for some time for an extension of the runway so we can accommodate jet traffic. We will certainly need it when the economy is opened up again so we can start to revitalise our tourism offering and business supports in Waterford and the south east.

As Deputy Berry has just mentioned it, I would also like to highlight Rescue 117, which is the funded helicopter service operated by CHC Helicopter for air-sea rescue in the south east. It does tremendous work, particularly in the south-east region. Not only is it tasked with trying to monitor our shorelines but it also does a large number of patient transfers, and has carried out transfers to the UK through the children's hospital. I would like to give a big shout out to Rescue 117. It is supported at Waterford Airport and I hope the funding going into that area in the future will be increased.

As for what other Deputies have said, we can all lament that we no longer have a nationally-funded public carrier. We know the trials of Aer Lingus as part of the International Airlines Group, IAG, and Ryanair, as big as it is, certainly is feeling the great difficulty that exists like everybody else. I hope the Government can step in. Other Deputies referred to the amount of state aid given by other countries in the EU and state aid rules have been relaxed in order to support services. This is something the Minister and the Department need to consider becoming active on pretty soon.

In that light, another look at the importance of the aviation sector is needed. If I recall the figure that was given to me at recent presentations, it makes up about 10% of the economic component of the country when it is fleshed out through the individual services, employment and tourism, because many people travel in and out of the country using air services. Financial aircraft leasing is very big business, as the Minister mentioned, and for years Ireland has been at the absolute centre of global aircraft leasing. Tourism and hospitality are areas in which I and many others have concerns as to how quickly the economy is going to recover and how quickly we can re-establish low-cost fares, which have been the basis of a huge amount of our tourism in recent years. There is now the potential for fare increases and some redundancy of aircraft. I also believe we can soon expect green charges on fuel, which will add to fare costs. Again, I ask the question as to what level of financial supports will be coming from Government to offset those.

With regard to some of the things we could be doing in aviation leadership, I come back to the issue of a pilot training school. We certainly had such a school in Waterford years ago but I am not aware of any specific school now and while there are early pilot training schools, they do not operate to a commercial level and most students have to go to America to finish their training. Now, with modern technology, this is something we should be looking at and trying to support.

With regard to the Defence Forces, what role will this regulator play in regard to future air defence policy and coastline surveillance using the Air Corps?

I also wish to point to an area of development that is coming fast, namely, drone technology and using drones in the area of logistics, as well as in regard to defence and surveillance. Again, this is something to which the Department needs to be alive. There is no reason that Ireland, as we have done in many other areas previously, cannot become a global leader in pursuing some of this technology and some of the ideals of drone technology, which is going to be a ubiquitous service very soon.

I hope we can retain our role in global aircraft leasing and I hope the Government will be forthcoming on all of that. I seek an understanding of where, with the passage of this Bill, the authority will intersect with this activity in the future.

As other Deputies have mentioned, there is horrendous economic pain in the aircraft and aviation sectors with families who are challenged through unemployment and through furlough. Although I am not a Deputy representing Dublin, I am getting quite a number of representations from people who are struggling as their jobs in aviation have been furloughed and they are having great difficulty. This is something about which the Minister can talk to the Departments of Finance and Social Protection to make sure people are tided over. It is very difficult to go from a very high-paying job to a very low-paying support overnight, with all of the costs people incur. We have to remember, as public servants, that we do not suffer those situations but people in the private sector do. I ask the Minister to have a look at that with other Ministers.

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