Results 1,861-1,880 of 5,918 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (25 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: It is a fair comment though.

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (25 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I spent 25 years of my life teaching in Dún Laoghaire and a fair number of sub-Saharan Africans in particular would have come through our college in my time. Would Ms Buckley see any benefit in educating the indigenous Irish, for the want of a better description, on the ethos and standards that some of our migrant communities have? I am particularly mindful of the Nigerians and the...

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (25 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: No and I thank the Chairman. I really appreciate the time and answers given, and the work of the Department. I wish the witnesses the best going forward.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Yesterday, I attended the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, biannual conference. It was probably one of the most depressing conferences I have ever attended. Clearly, nobody in government takes the Defence Forces seriously. Nobody cares about the way the organisation is being run into the ground. Yesterday, we had a Minister for Defence tell the assembled group...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I thank both witnesses for being here today. I will start by asking Mr. Ó Conghaile straight out if he has any beneficial interest in any entity regulated by the IAA.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Can Mr. Ó Conghaile tell me the date he finished employment with his last employer, a commercial airline?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I am being careful.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: When did Mr. Ó Conghaile start with the IAA?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: With respect to the maps that we have been discussing, I want to read a short section of the IAA aeronautical service advisory memorandum No. 022, Issue 2 of 18 August 2016. According to the memorandum: It is the responsibility of the IAA to ensure that integrity of aeronautical data is maintained throughout the data process from survey/origin to the next intended user. That aeronautical...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: There has been some discussion of the IAA's role in respect of the R116 accident. Would I be right in saying that the IAA, at that time, had no statutory authority, as it were, to oversee SAR, and that to this day it still does not have a statutory authority to oversee SAR until such time as the Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2020 is passed? Is that fair?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: The report suggests there was some ambiguity within the IAA as to its role in overseeing SAR operations in this country. Is that fair to say?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: Yes, probably because SAR was traditionally done by defence forces or air forces in various countries.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: What I am trying to establish is that the ambiguity that is reported in respect of the IAA's involvement in SAR was justified ambiguity because there is not, to date, a statutory obligation. That statutory obligation will come in with the Bill we are now moving through the Seanad.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: The Bill will definitely underpin that, though.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: As for night vision, some concern was expressed as far back as 2015 about poor lighting in the cockpits of aircraft. Those aircraft were retrofitted for night vision technology. Maybe it is a bit unfair to ask Mr. Ó Conghaile this, and by all means he may tell me he cannot answer it because it was well before his time. Clearly, those aircraft were retrofitted. After the retrofitting...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: I am being careful. To date, that night vision is still not universally applied across the entire operation. After the retrofit, was it the responsibility of the IAA to inspect the aircraft and make sure they were operating correctly vis-à-viscockpit lighting and so on?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: We will have all them up and running by then, will we?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: That is pretty good. I am being very careful, Chairman. I am not trying to apportion blame to anybody but I am trying to understand how it has taken more than eight years to get a system that has been put in place working and operating.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: At this stage I am happy enough the IAA will now have oversight and will be proactive in its oversight. I am a little concerned the charts and maps that are provided to aeronautical companies can be scanned incorrectly. It appears from the report that that seems to have been a problem. Four navigation systems, from what I can recall, failed on that day. I am sure the IAA has plenty of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Irish Aviation Authority: Chairperson Designate (24 Nov 2021)

Gerard Craughwell: We all accept that, but the whole purpose-----