Results 4,401-4,420 of 5,765 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: That is fine.

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: One of the things that gives us all great confidence when we go to fly is the level of safety that exists in the world of aviation. If one peruses the air accident investigation reports on any air accident one will see that the level of detail that is available is incredible. I mean if a part is replaced on any aircraft that flies then one can trace it all the way to the very machine that...

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: That has not answered the question. It is a clear one. Does the Minister of State have an aviation expert on her staff in the Department of Transport, yes or no?

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: This is not a Commencement matter.

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: It is related.

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: No, the Minister of State has not.

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Does the Minister of State have somebody on the staff?

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Does the Department have an aviation expert on the staff?

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: I am sorry, but it is not a question of whether I like the response or not. We are passing legislation through this House-----

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: The air accident investigation report criticises the fact that the Department depends on contractors to provide advice and states clearly that the Department needs to have an in-house expert. I ask again if there is such an in-house expert in aviation.

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: No, she said that she has access to people with expertise who are contractors. I am asking if there is an employee of the State working in the Department of Transport who is an aviation expert.

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Okay.

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: That is grand.

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Returning to the stakeholder forum the Minister of State spoke of, if we were to call a meeting of that group we would probably need a hotel to accommodate the representatives from all the different agencies mentioned. The key thing is that pilots have concerns about lighting at airports when they are landing and taking off, as well as concerns about various other things. The Minister of...

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: A peer support group is vital, particularly in light of the crash in the Alps some years ago. Part of the rationale behind a peer support group is that people are dealing with others of similar qualifications to themselves and dealing with people who can treat them in a confidential manner, and they can deal with people who are one step removed from the management of the organisation. Let...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: An Garda Síochána (15 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Oh my God.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Air Accident Investigations (15 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: The Minister of State is welcome to the House. I think this is the first time I addressed him since he was elevated to ministerial office. I am delighted he is here, and I understand the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is unwell with Covid-19 and I wish him well, but it is deeply regrettable the junior Minister at his Department is not here to take this issue. The Minister of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Air Accident Investigations (15 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: I wonder how we are allowing a Department with no aviation expertise to have any hand, act or part in the next SAR tender services and how we are allowing the Department or the Irish Coast Guard to lead out on the next SAR. Within days of the PQQ to which the Minister of State adverted in his reply being issued, it had to be extended because of the change from three bases to four bases. We...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Jun 2022)

Gerard Craughwell: Hear, hear.