Dáil debates

Tuesday, 26 September 2017

6:25 pm

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. The aviation sector is a critically important one for a small open economy such as Ireland's. Key to supporting this industry is ensuring that, as a nation and Government, we have sufficient airport capacity and sufficient infrastructure in place. We need to have our capacity right and our infrastructure in place to ensure we have sustainable development going forward. We need to have it in place to enable IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to attract foreign direct investment for the proper and sustainable development of the capital city and the eastern seaboard and all counties served by Dublin Airport, including my constituency of Longford-Westmeath. Increased connectivity is extremely important. The key to all of this is the roll out and construction of the second runway at Dublin Airport. I am thinking back to a Topical Issue debate initiated by my colleagues, Deputy Daly and Deputy Broughan, in June 2016 about EU regulation and the need for a competent authority to deal with noise regulation at Dublin Airport. I refer to a priority question I tabled to the Minister on Wednesday, 2 November 2016. Key to this is that the residents who are affected want to know who is the competent authority dealing with noise regulations. When I raised this issue in November 2016, the Minister gave me an answer. He accused me of being alarmist.

The Deputy is being a little bit alarmist. There is one certainty. The runway will be built. What is uncertain, as the Deputy correctly said, is the exact timeframe because we are not certain that primary legislation will not be required. It is unlikely, but it is possible. If this is done by way of a statutory instrument, it will all be over by Christmas. If primary legislation is by any chance necessary, it will be done very early in the new year. Those are the certainties.

That is what the Minister said to me almost 12 months ago. We are 12 months on and we still have no certainties. The lack of progress on this is having a huge impact. Dublin Airport is at capacity. It will have severe negative economic impact on the wider area. Can the Minister confirm to the House when the second runway will be up and operational? Can he confirm it will be operational, as previously promised, by the first quarter in 2020? Will he confirm the Irish Aviation Authority remains the Government's choice as the competent authority to deal with noise regulation? If it is still the Government's choice to deal with it, can he confirm 18 months on whether a statutory instrument will be required? If so, when will it be published? If primary legislation is needed, when can we expect to debate it on the floor of the Dáil?

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank Deputy Troy for raising this important matter. I share his frustration about the delay. It is something I regret enormously but it is very important that we get it right. We are dependent on legal advice wherever it is coming from but mostly from the Attorney General's office. We will take that legal advice. What is important to hear is that we get it right. I am sure if we got it wrong and there were consequences, Deputy Troy would rightly be the first person to come into the House and say the legislation was rushed and we were to blame for it. I assure the House we are still working extremely strenuously towards the objectives of which he spoke and that there is absolutely no intention to make any changes. The route whereby we get there is the matter that is being worked upon very intensely in the Attorney General's office and elsewhere. That route is slower than we expected but it will be finalised in good time so that the timetable is not in any way knocked.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I have made a number of contributions in the House on this matter over the course of the past 12 months, which is too long. The Deputy mentioned November 2016 and he is absolutely correct; it is far too long and it is something I regret. I regret it was not finalised within the timetable which we intended but we are moving as hastily as we possibly can without damaging the chances of the final answer we will come to. It has also been raised in response to questions by Deputy Clare Daly who has a keen interest in this issue.

As Deputy Troy rightly said, the residents have a real interest in this issue as well and they have a right to a hearing. Deputy Troy will be aware I have met many delegations of residents to whom I have listened speak about the difficulties they are facing. I have every sympathy for them. That has been passed on to the DAA on every occasion. I will continue to meet delegations of the residents because people have a right to a certain tranquility and not to be disrupted too much by airlines. That is why we will have a noise regulator.

As the Deputy may know, the EU noise regulation, Regulation 598/2014, establishes a set of common rules and procedures to deal with noise issues at airports within all EU member states. The regulation which came into effect in June of last year, applies to airports of a certain size. In Ireland, it is only applicable to Dublin Airport.

The regulation is an important addition to the EU legal framework for effective environmental management and control. It seeks to ensure that airport capacity is developed in a measured and balanced way, with due regard to economic growth, jobs, prosperity and the mitigation of environmental impacts. The main purpose of the regulation is to provide member states with a common framework for applying internationally agreed best practices in the area of aviation noise management.

On the one hand, the regulation recognises the importance of aviation connectivity in supporting economic growth, social development and international trade. On the other hand, it also recognises the need for states to expand airport capacity in a controlled and sensible manner, especially in minimising the impact of aircraft noise in the vicinity of airport sites. Drawing on methodology agreed at the UN's International Civil Aviation Organisation, which is the global body responsible for co-ordinating and developing international aviation, the EU regulation provides a way of ensuring that aircraft noise is managed in a coherent and balanced manner.

Under the regulation, which came into effect last year and which is therefore law here, I am required to appoint a competent authority to be responsible for its application. Such a body shall be responsible for measuring noise and making decisions about how it should be managed by the airport in the context of current and future activity and expansion. Typically, this would be a relatively straightforward task involving a statutory instrument to nominate the competent authority. However, as the Deputy will know, it has proven very complex to transfer onto existing Irish planning and development arrangements, and my Department has had to work quite intensively with the Office of the Attorney General over an extended period of time to work through the best way to ensure Ireland is fully compliant.

6:35 pm

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister did not answer any of my questions. Will he commit to the runway being operational by the first quarter of 2020? Will he confirm that the Irish Aviation Authority remains the Government's choice as the competent authority? Does it require a statutory instrument or primary legislation? Those are three very simple and basic questions.

The Minister said he met the residents - fair play. The residents have met representatives of the DAA on a number of occasions. They want an independent authority to regulate the noise. While he can correct me if I am wrong, as of today, the Minister seems unable tell the House what the competent authority is. If he can, he should share the information with us. He said he sought legal advice, mostly coming from the Office of the Attorney General. What other legal advice has he sought? Has a senior counsel been brought on board? Has the DAA or the IAA given legal advice to the Department?

The Minister said he has no intention of making any changes, but the route to get there may change. He is trying to muddy the waters. I will ask some very straight questions and I would appreciate if he could answer them. Does the IAA remain the competent authority? Does it require a statutory instrument or primary legislation? Is the Minister committed to having the second runway in operation by the first quarter of 2020? If it is not the IAA, what body does the Minister consider as the competent authority? It started off as the EPA and changed to the IAA. The Minister has led us to believe he has worked on this for more than 18 months and now his reply has left uncertainty as to whether it is the IAA.

The Minister should not give us the balderdash that we would be critical of him because it would be rushed. It is far from rushed; it is operating at a snail's pace. Even the Minister has said he is embarrassed over the pace at which it is operating. I am not looking for rushed legislation, but detailed answers on the status of this issue. The airport management needs to know and the residents need to know. It is down to the Minister to inform us.

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy for his very specific questions. I will try to give him the answers as specifically as I possibly can. On the question of the route for getting there, it is quite simple; it is where the balance between the statutory instrument and primary legislation lies. That has not yet been decided and has not been fully recommended upon by the Attorney General. That is why I say the route may vary; the balance may move towards primary legislation and away from statutory instrument depending on the Attorney General's advice. That is what I mean when I refer to the route by which we get to the same objective.

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Surely the Minister should just do the primary legislation.

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The Deputy and I both know what the objective is. Whether we get there by primary legislation or statutory instrument or both and in which proportions is a matter we will address as soon as we get the advice from the Attorney General. The Deputy should recognise that the Attorney General's advice is important here. If we ignore that advice, we will, of course, be culpable. That will be a major factor in the decision about the route we take on legislation.

The Deputy asked about the other legal advice. The other legal advice has come, but I have not seen it. I know the Attorney General has certainly sought external advice as well, which is quite normal in the case of very complex legislation or a very complex matter which is of huge national importance. They sometimes-----

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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Is the IAA the competent authority?

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Let me finish.

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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I am trying to get answers to the three questions I asked. The time is going to run out.

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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An tAire-----

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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It is very important that we take cognisance of that advice when deciding on that balance. That will be a very important factor.

On the issue of the first quarter of 2020-----

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Aviation Authority-----

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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We have absolutely no intention of diverting from that target. All other matters the Deputy raised are matters that will be influenced by the advice we will get, hopefully, in the coming days.

Photo of Robert TroyRobert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has wasted 12 months.