Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The aviation sector was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic and it was recognised from the outset, and again here today, that it will take much longer to recover compared with others. The industry employs, directly and indirectly, over 140,000 people and it is vital to our economy and society as an island nation. Many of these workers faced savage cuts over the past 18 months and the vast majority are still not on their full wages or working hours. There are real concerns about their prospects of getting back to that point. This has a real impact on families, communities and local economies.

We should not forget the experience of these dedicated workers. Newspaper headlines indicated that cabin crew were struggling to feed their families at a time when their employer was receiving hundreds of millions of euro in State support, all while that employer and the Department of Social Protection pointed fingers at each other over short-term work supports.

This was the absolute worst of the pandemic. It was shameful and it is continuing in that company, and in other companies in aviation, as the sector tries to exploit the pandemic.

The Minister of State will be aware of very significant industrial relations issues across the aviation sector. Last month, Aer Lingus ground staff and cabin crew both rejected efforts by the company to target their work terms and conditions in order to offset losses at the airline. These workers already faced massive income losses during the pandemic. Permanent cuts to their working conditions will not help the sector to recover. Aer Lingus is seeking to take advantage of the pandemic after it received hundreds of millions of euro in support from taxpayers. The State must intervene to protect jobs in the sector.

Similarly, the DAA's attempt to outsource front-line maintenance work is disgraceful and something Sinn Féin opposes. This is a semi-State company. Outsourcing is far too often the precursor to further attacks on the terms and conditions of workers. This is not acceptable and it should be opposed in the strongest terms. Furthermore, members of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications have all received correspondence from air traffic control workers highlighting a litany of concerns about the Irish Aviation Authority, IAA. I have written to the Minister of State on this but have yet to receive a substantive reply.

I know the Minister of State cannot comment specifically on all these cases, but it is very important that reassurance is provided in the House today that the Government is engaging on these issues. We cannot leave these matters, and the future of our aviation sector, to the whim of the market. If we do that, we can forget about regional balance. The State must use its position. We need to bear in mind we are an island nation. Far too often, Ministers have washed their hands of transport matters and let industrial relations issues spiral out of control. We do not want to see that happen now as the aviation sector begins to recover.

It is also essential that the State continues to support these workers. I hope the Minister of State will provide some insight on the medium-term supports the Government is planning. There has been a clear call from workers and their unions in the sector for an aviation-specific employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, to be put in place to support workers until the sector recovers. Last month, the Minister of State told me the Government is having constructive conversations on this as part of the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, subgroup. I would like an update on that. I noted nothing was forthcoming in her opening comments. The extension is about getting us over the shoulder. People in the sector are saying they have missed their season, which does not start again until around St. Patrick's Day.

The Minister of State mentioned the Fit for 55 EU-level package. There is an opportunity for Ireland to be a leader in the transition towards alternative fuels. We do not have a hydrogen strategy and we should have one. There is an opportunity in that. We are in a unique position on international aviation and we can be leaders in the field. Otherwise, we will be playing catch-up.

From a tourism perspective, we want to make travel as convenient as possible for people, while also having appropriate public health measures in place. Do we have any indication of the date on which routes to the United States will reopen? Many people are very interested in that and it has a major impact on the aviation sector. A query that comes up time and again relates to vaccinated individuals. Very many people in Ireland received the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is not licensed in the United States. Will it be accepted there? Does the Minister of State have any information on that? It is a query. I hope the vaccine would be accepted given the number of people in Ireland who have been vaccinated with it.

I will speak about the coach tourism sector, which is related to the briefs of both the Minister and the Minister of State in different ways. Representatives of that sector have outlined the major challenges it faces. They have identified a number of measures they believe need to be taken to get them back on their feet and sustain them through this period. They, too, have called for an extension of the EWSS and specific targeted supports for the sector. They are facing challenges with forbearance and depreciation of assets. This is a sector deserving of significant support and I encourage both the Minister and the Minister of State to engage with it positively.

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