Dáil debates

Wednesday, 21 February 2007

3:00 pm

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 80: To ask the Minister for Transport the reason for the delay in extending whistleblowing legislation to all transport sectors here. [6567/07]

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Transport companies in all transport modes now have freedom to operate in any of the member states of the European Union. In that context, it is essential that any legislation, such as that referred to by the Deputy, is enacted in an EU-wide framework and is applied equally to all transport undertakings across the EU.

As stated in my reply to a similar question last September, such legislation was enacted in 2005, on foot of an EU directive, to protect railway staff that provide information to the appropriate authority relevant to an investigation of a railway incident or of any risk to the railway. Similarly, regulations have recently been drafted, also on foot of an EU directive, to provide for a confidential reporting system in relation to occurrence reporting in civil aviation. It is expected that this measure will be transposed into Irish law in the near future. Any similar provisions agreed at European level in respect of other modes of transport will be transposed into Irish Law.

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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The Minister will be aware that several years ago Deputy Rabbitte introduced a general whistleblowers Bill. The Government opposed it on the basis that it had plans to introduce whistleblowers legislation on a Department by Department or sector by sector basis. In all the years since then little or no progress has been made in introducing whistlebowers legislation or protection for people working in the transport sector.

I have received representations in recent months from three employees in the aviation sector. One of them works in airport security, another is an aviation engineer who has concerns about safety and the third is a pilot who also has concerns about safety. None of those three people who contracted me felt they were in a position to report their concerns to the authorities. They all feared for their jobs if they did so. That cannot be good practice in a sector that is as security and safety sensitive as aviation. These are just three examples that have come to my attention in recent months.

If the Minister was serious about safety and security in the transport sector, he would have taken action by now to provide a framework for people in that kind of situation to report on their concerns. There should be a reporting system in place which would protect their jobs from implications that might come from their employers. Does the Minister have any plans at all to introduce legislation at this late stage? What kind of support can he offer those who are in the front line of aviation and have serious concerns about safety and security? They feel helpless when trying to take action on those concerns.

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Directive EC 2003/42 of 13 June 2003 deals with occurrence reporting in civil aviation. Occurrence can be regarded as any event which gives rise to a possible safety concern. The directive includes an option for member states to develop a confidential reporting system. Drafting of a statutory instrument is at an advanced stage and I expect that the measure will be transposed into Irish law in the near future. The objective of the regulations is to contribute to the improvement of air safety by ensuring that relevant information on safety is reported, collated, stored, protected and disseminated, so that the lessons learned from the reports can be applied to correct deficiencies and improve the level of air safety generally.

We should facilitate concerns of members who work in any section of the industry so that they feel protected and confident in themselves and there are no personal repercussions if they raise safety issues. This directive will help in that regard.

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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What is the Minister actually doing about it? He is merely giving us a rundown on the directive. Article 9 of that directive allows for the establishment of a voluntary reporting system, but he has done nothing about it. He states that work is under way to transpose that directive. I received a reply from his Department a few years ago stating that the directive would be transposed. He was required to transpose it by July 2005, yet that has not happened. The Minister is a good while in his job. The directive was supposed to be transposed, so when does he intend to do it?

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is talking about a number of different things because there are different areas involved. The Railway Safety Act 2005 provides for the implementation of most provisions in the railway safety directive, including article 16 and article 21, which require the establishment of a national railway safety authority, a railway safety commission and a railway incident investigation unit. These are all in place, so a number of the different modes under my responsibility are in order.

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Is there anything about aviation at all?

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I accept the Deputy's point. I expect to transpose into Irish law what I set out regarding civil aviation safety issues a few moments ago.

Photo of Róisín ShortallRóisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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That is two years late.

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I expect to do it soon.