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

This is the Minister's first time in the Dáil Chamber since the incidents of the weekend. He is the Minister for Transport. The people of Ireland are looking to the Minister and his Department for leadership on this matter. The Minister can take it or leave it, but my opinion is that to neglect that, not reference it and not provide confidence and comfort to people who either went through the experience of Dublin Airport at the weekend or who will be travelling next weekend or further into the future, is incredible.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the matter of transport. While there are many areas I could focus on, the events of the weekend put one matter ahead of all others. As an island nation, air connectivity is vital for family, social, tourism and business purposes. The aviation sector has endured two difficult years during the pandemic with many workers losing their jobs and thousands of others suffering severe pay cuts. A rapid return to normality was hoped for and thankfully that is now materialising. Unfortunately, our main State airport failed to read the signs of recovery over the past year and was completely ill-prepared for the long-awaited rebound.

During the pandemic, the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, slashed employee numbers. It cut 1,000 staff. That was completely excessive, short-sighted and highlighted a total disregard for workers. It was also incredibly ill-judged for an authority with responsibility in the aviation sector. The DAA is now scrambling to refill these jobs, which should not have been abolished in the first place. In short, abolishing them was a penny-wise-and-pound-foolish approach. If the DAA had talked to a sinner soul on this island during the pandemic, it would have known that people were chomping at the bit to get back to travel. In addition, Ireland is home to Ryanair, one of the most successful and aggressive airlines on the planet. As a result, the airport should have been better prepared for a more rapid aviation recovery compared with other airports. If aviation was going to recover anywhere, it was going to recover in Ireland. Instead, the DAA was caught on the hop and passengers have paid the price.

Dublin Airport management is simply not performing, and that is not just when it comes to unacceptable security wait times. Complaints have been made about the uncleanliness of the airport, long queues for food and beverage outlets in the terminals, more delays for baggage pick-up and the struggle to get taxis. We even saw an ugly brawl in the terminal recently. The Garda response to the incident was slow, despite the opening of a brand-new Garda station in the airport this month. It all adds up to an unpleasant experience for passengers, with many dreading the thought of using the airport to go to and from Ireland.

It is having an incredibly negative impact on our international reputation. We spend millions each year marketing Ireland as a great tourist destination but coverage of this travel chaos on the BBC, in The New York Timesand on Australian news has the potential to put tourists off. Cost-cutting by management and neglect by Government Ministers has resulted in a significant drop in the quality of the service being offered at Dublin Airport, and that is not good enough. Is the Minister for Transport happy to stand idly by and allow these problems to continue or has he any intention of acting? Throughout the pandemic I raised the need for support for the aviation sector so that it could be ready for this rebound. Airports and airlines used the pandemic as an opportunity to cut staff numbers beyond what was justified. They targeted the longest-serving, most experienced and best-paid staff.

I raised the issue of security delays with the Minister at the start of April when the problem arose ahead of the Easter break. I asked him what action he was taking to address this problem. The Minister said he was monitoring the situation and was arranging meetings with the management of the airport. The same response came yesterday when yet another meeting took place with management. The Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, have stated that they will now hold daily meetings with management about this problem.

Meetings are all we have had. That is it. What have these meetings achieved to date and what is discussed at them? By the look of things, it is not solutions.

The Government has a really important role to play in this matter. We are talking about the busiest State airport in the country, with 85% of all air traffic going through it. There are solutions the Government can push to help to fix this issue. First, excellent pay and working conditions are central to resolving it. There have been reports about low pay, long shifts and issues with workers getting paid their overtime. Good pay and conditions will help to attract and retain security staff in our airports. In the short term, extra personnel clearly need to be drafted into Dublin Airport, whether from other airports or, for example, by utilising Army personnel. Everything needs to be on the table. We also need to see a fast-tracking of recruitment and training for new staff.

In the medium term, as well as investment in workers, we need to see investment in new security screening equipment. Last year, Shannon Airport invested in upgrading its security machines, which removes the need to take liquids and laptops out of bags. This has the potential to speed things up significantly. In the longer term, we need a plan to rebalance some of the Dublin Airport traffic to other airports, including Cork, Shannon and Ireland West Airport Knock. As I said, 85% of traffic currently goes through Dublin.

The Minister for Transport cannot wash his hands of this problem. All Ministers needs to step up and take responsibility. They cannot just turn up at the airport when a ribbon needs cutting. When the pressure is on, they need to stand up and be counted.

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