Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In light of recent media reports, I want to return to the matter of airspace management in this jurisdiction. In an effort to be constructive, we should probably reframe the debate. It is not really one of national defence but flight safety. The country is at peace, thankfully, so we should have an air policing service here with a constabulary role. That is where the focus should be. What happens in a normal EU country is that if a passenger airline, for instance, is not co-operating with air traffic control, after a time, a couple of jets are scrambled, they intercept the aircraft, do a close visual inspection, make sure the pilots are conscious and there has not been any cabin decompression. If there is a problem with communications, they use hand signals to communicate with the pilots and tell them to tweak the frequencies. If that passenger airliner remains unco-operative with air traffic control, that message is relayed back to air traffic control and other aircraft are diverted to avoid an inadvertent collision. Primarily, it is an air policing and air safety issue rather than a national defence issue.

Second, we have very busy airspace over our heads. We sit on the main air corridor between North America and continental Europe and we should have our own air policing service. The Air Corps did provide a rudimentary one in the past. The Commission on the Defence Forces recommended one when it reported some 15 months ago. That will take some time, however. It is completely reasonable, rational and responsible that, as an interim measure, we reach out to a neighbouring county with surplus capacity in this area and ask it to cover for us for a couple of years until we establish our own service. I welcome that there is at least some indication that there is an arrangement in place between the Royal Air Force and this country. I do not welcome the ambiguity surrounding it, however. It is being treated like the third secret of Fatima all over again and it does not have to be. It is normal to enter into these relationships and we should be much more open and honest in that regard. The students in the Visitors Gallery will know the words of Bill Shakespeare: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive". Honesty is the best policy in every circumstance but particularly when we are dealing with an issue as important as this.

Finally, I raise the primary radar system. It was also recommended 15 months ago by the Commission on the Defence Forces. Given that the Government has accepted the commission's recommendations, it is legitimate, 15 months down the track, to ask where that primary radar is. Are we going to have it in place by the end of this year or this Dáil or will it come into place at all? I would be grateful if the Taoiseach could clarify these matters.

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