Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Time and again I have stood in this convention centre and in the Chamber across the water and raised the difficulties facing the aviation sector. Many sectors were closed by the Government's public health restrictions out of necessity, but those sectors had a plan for their reopening. Aviation was closed and a task force established, but the recommendations of that task force have been completely set aside by the Government without any explanation. There was never a plan. The plan was to close; there was never a plan for reopening.

I have raised numerous and a diverse range of issues relating to cabin crew, ground staff, pilots, maintenance staff in our airports, retail businesses in our terminals, mechanics, engineers and businesses such as LDS Ltd, Luggage Delivery Services International, which are locked out of supports to the airlines. The only constant in the issues I raised is the Government's failure to deal with them and resolve them in the interests of the workers concerned. Workers in the sector are devastated. They are on reduced hours and pay. Some are in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment and others the employment wage subsidy scheme. While many have been accessing jobseeker's benefit and short-term work supports, others have suffered the loss of their jobs completely.

Many workers across the sector have now received the news they have lost their entitlements to social protection supports because they have exceeded the days they can claim for. I am working with dozens of people through my offices in Swords and Balbriggan, and throughout Fingal, who are impacted by this. My colleague, Deputy Claire Kerrane, and I have raised this issue and we simply cannot get any movement on it. The rules around requalification were not drawn up with a pandemic in mind. They do not work for workers in this instance. The supports need to be extended beyond the current six and nine months and the rules around requalification have to be suspended.

Furthermore, just a few weeks ago, we heard the devastating announcement by Aer Lingus regarding base closures, along with the collapse of Stobart Air. Stobart ceased trading with a loss of 480 jobs and a liquidator has been appointed. More than 140,000 jobs depend on aviation and ensuring the island remains connected. At the heart of this devastation is a Minister and Government that have a completely hands-off approach to the aviation sector. Without our connectivity we are lost. The Government needs to hear the core message that it must protect our connectivity and aviation jobs. I am blue in the face saying this.

From the outset of the pandemic, workers and unions in the sector have called for two things, namely, supports and a plan. The supports for workers, airlines and airports are a fraction of what is needed, based on international comparisons. As I stated in the Chamber some weeks back, countries in Europe connected by rail and road invested far more in their aviation sector than we have, even though we are an island on the edge of the Atlantic absolutely dependent upon aviation. We really need to catch up.

I will mention the Stobart workers. A liquidator has been appointed. Some of the workers are in a trade union and some are in a staff association. They are absolutely lost. I ask the Minister of State to appoint a person in her Department to liaise directly with these workers. I ask her, and she might cover this in her closing remarks, whether she believes there will be a transfer of undertakings for some or all of these workers or how many of them might be involved in a transfer of undertakings, TUPE, arrangement. It is really important for them to know that now. I ask the Minister of State to talk to her colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, and ask her if a link person can be provided to liaise with these people because they are all at sea now. They do not know what is going to happen.

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