David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

I want to raise an urgent issue that has arisen in relation to the Irish Coast Guard air search and rescue service. I met with crew representatives from across the State yesterday, including pilots and other crews, who raised serious safety issues and fatigue issues. This is down to 24-hour shifts where a greater portion of their shift is now being classed as "on standby" time. They are not on standby, they are on site, they are in work and in a state of immediate readiness. They also argue that the Irish Aviation Authority is in contravention of the EU working time directive. Will the Minister examine this? The State needs to come clean if it is the case that we are in breach of that directive. We owe it to those crew members to ensure that safety is paramount. There have been far too many accidents in this area.

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