Results 3,501-3,520 of 4,026 for speaker:

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Nov 2020)

Duncan Smith: I agree that he was not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Nov 2020)

Duncan Smith: I did not mean to put that across but it was put out there and it is part of the conversation. We do have emerging examples though. Istanbul Airport has a big testing regime. We spoke to representatives from Rome Airport last week and there are a number of other airports as well. There is a growing body of examples for us to look at. I will conclude with this as I have only ten seconds....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Nov 2020)

Duncan Smith: As in the Swiss cheese analogy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Nov 2020)

Duncan Smith: Our contact tracing system fell apart a couple of weeks ago. It is to be hoped it is back on track. Do we need to do more as far as retrospective contact tracing is concerned, particularly in the context of Dr. Holohan's comment earlier that it would be great to drive the virus back by county, town and local area? Will the witnesses comment on retrospective tracing and what needs to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Nov 2020)

Duncan Smith: I should not have set the question up like that. It was just about retrospective contact tracing. To what extent should we prioritise that in the next few months?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: I welcome the witnesses. There is a sense of déjà vuabout this discussion because we had more or less the same conversation this day three weeks ago at a previous meeting of the committee. Unfortunately, that meeting was followed by three further weeks of inaction on the part of the Government. I am very interested in what the level of communication is between senior management...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: Would it be fair to say that Aer Lingus is leading that engagement? In other words, is it the case that the company is proactively making representations to the Department and the latter is not leading that engagement?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: My sense is that since the report of the Commission for Aviation Regulation in the summer, the sittings of the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response and through to today, we have not seen the level of urgency that is required in terms of implementing a plan for the sector. We know that even if a plan were implemented next week that included rapid testing, locator forms and everything else,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: If we get this first step wrong or do not take it, are we going to see extensive job losses in the two airlines next year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: I thank all the witnesses for returning so soon. We have two realities here. We have the reality of what has been happening in this committee over the past two days with all the witnesses increasingly frustrated and understandably angry at the lack of progress and we have the reality of the Minister for Transport cycling to a Cabinet meeting today saying that he would love see airport...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: Was that for testing or passengers?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: Cork Airport has been discussed. There is pressure on all our international and regional airports. We know Cork Airport is worth up to €1 billion a year to the economy of Cork and the south. What level of engagement has taken place between the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and the DAA on Cork Airport, in particular? I am very interested in the level of engagement with the Minister and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: I thank Mr. MacCarthy.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (27 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: I thank Mr. Cornelis. The questions I was going to ask him have already been asked, so I will direct my questions to the IAA. I will not take the full seven minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (27 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: Notwithstanding the fact that the IAA is a financially independent commercial semi-State body, we might have been forgiven for thinking that, since it is also a safety regulator, there would be some circumspection in its submission. There is none, however. The submission is refreshingly blunt on the need for an airport testing regime. When appearing before the Covid committee several...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (27 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: In bold font in its submission, the IAA states that it covers all aspects of aviation safety. From a passenger point of view, Covid is the main safety aspect at the moment. Speaking personally, I would not feel safe travelling now. If there was a testing regime, be it pre-departure or on arrival, I would feel safe. I believe that is representative of the majority view across the country....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (27 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: From sitting on the committee, does the IAA believe that the Department's view has evolved? What is Mr. Brandon's sense of the Department's position?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Issues Affecting the Aviation Sector: Discussion (27 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: I will leave it at that. The IAA has made a strong submission and I hope that the Government takes cognisance of it. I thank the witnesses for their participating in this meeting. It has been most useful.

Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: I wish to make a point. Anyone who was around in the previous Dáil – I was not – will remember that time was fairly regularly given over to statements on the mother and baby homes. If it was not regular, it was often. That gave a sense to some survivors that at least the Dáil had not forgotten about them. While it was not legislation but statements, the issue was...

Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters) Records, and another Matter, Bill 2020 [Seanad]: Second Stage (21 Oct 2020)

Duncan Smith: Nothing speaks to the harshness and horror of the Irish experience in the almost 100-year history of our State than the experiences of those who had to endure and survive, and in some cases the experiences of those who did not survive, our State-sponsored institutions, such as mother and baby homes. Quite frankly, it is shocking, disheartening and totally avoidable that the Government is...