Results 321-340 of 4,510 for speaker:Cathal Crowe

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

Cathal Crowe: We are an island nation. I lived in continental Europe for a year. People in Luxembourg, for example, may have to cross an international border several times a day for school or work. We depend on air and sea travel. Have there been similar crackdowns in border regions such as in Germany, where there is a high incidence rate while Luxembourg has a low one? Is there anything comparable...

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

Cathal Crowe: Beyond member states, what kind of dialogue is happening to restart aviation between the European Union and, say, the US, Canada or Australia?

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

Cathal Crowe: Therein lies the problem. There is no standardisation among member states in regard to orange and red routes. In a country such as Ireland that is geographically peripheral, and in a county such as Clare that is even more so, with Shannon Airport in our backyard, we will suffer unless there is uniformity. I turn to Mr. Brandon. Obviously, there are not as many aeroplanes in the sky....

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

Cathal Crowe: Will Mr. Brandon comment on the inspections that are happening?

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

Cathal Crowe: I know of one business whose owner stated there had never been such an inspection in all the years the business has existed. On top of the stresses of Covid-19 and trying to trade, the business is experiencing young people with badges arriving at its back door. I think that should stop.

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

Cathal Crowe: I want to ask Mr. Cornelis one or two final questions. At present, the European traffic light system is guided by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The most recent updated map of risk level is dated 22 October. I have been looking at the red regions. The Commission made it clear, when it was announced that we were moving to the traffic light system, that it was based...

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

Cathal Crowe: I thank Mr. Cornelis. It would be important that we would get clarification on that. The maps are somewhat misleading. The members will be aware we have county boundaries. We have subregional boundaries as well, such as the mid-west. It is important to establish that. For Shannon and Cork airports, it matters a great deal. We have seen throughout Europe that Covid has now almost caught...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

Cathal Crowe: Most of my questions are for Ms O'Beirne as lead of contact tracing in the HSE. I have just come from the Committee on Transport and Communications Networks where we were briefed by Aer Lingus and Ryanair on the great need to move to rapid antigen testing at airports to get aeroplanes back in the sky and return aviation to some semblance of normality. They will be briefed by others in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

Cathal Crowe: I am thinking of the straw that broke the camel's back. How much more capacity is available for contact tracing? The system is already hugely burdened. Could it take on potentially millions more? Does the public system have the potential capacity to take that on?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

Cathal Crowe: If we move to that model of testing passengers and international travel recommences, what would happen when someone arrived in Ireland who was asymptomatic and had tested negative for Covid but was positive a couple of days after arriving? We could end up with a kind of Cheltenham in reverse or an influx of people the weekend of an international match. Do we have any arrangements in place or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

Cathal Crowe: That is good to know. I am happy with Dr. Kelleher's answer. A number of school principals have contacted me. I was a schoolteacher until February. Where a school has a confirmed Covid case, the principal is obliged to get in contact immediately with the HSE, and the HSE then takes on a communications co-ordinating role. That sounds ideal, and this was designed initially in order that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Covid-19 Contact Tracing: HSE (28 Oct 2020)

Cathal Crowe: I thank Dr. Kelleher for that. Finally, what software does the HSE put on the contact tracers' laptops to ensure they are compliant with the GDPR and other relevant data regulations? They go home in the evening and use the same laptops for Facebook and other forms of personal use. What software does the HSE put on the laptops brought from home to the contact tracing points? What software...

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

Cathal Crowe: It was a devastating blow to County Clare and Shannon that in the same week the traffic light system was announced, the Ryanair base at Shannon closed. I would largely agree with Mr. Wilson regarding the regionalisation argument. The Covid-19 figures are released around teatime every evening. When the ECDC talks about regionalising risk, it seems, and I made this point yesterday, that it...

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

Cathal Crowe: If Aer Lingus is not committed to flying from Shannon between now and April, under what circumstances would it review that? I believe one can book flights from Shannon to Heathrow from 7 December onwards on the website. First, what does Aer Lingus need to happen? Second, what is Aer Lingus's intentions for its aircraft based in Shannon between now and the time they will be airborne again?

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

Cathal Crowe: Can Mr. Moody give commitments as to what will happen those aircraft? Are they to come back to Shannon, particularly transatlantic aircraft? Also, what can Mr. Moody say to the Shannon-based staff of his airline today in light of the April date he is now flagging?

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

Cathal Crowe: Would Mr. Moriarty consider a stopover facility in these months to ensure that he is satisfying the needs of a customer base in the mid-west and-or in Cork?

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

Cathal Crowe: My next question is for Mr. Wilson. We have heard his traffic light system argument. We have heard him talk about Ireland being an outlier. There are 28 European Union countries, four of which have a policy Ryanair likes, so 24 of them, including Ireland, have a policy Ryanair does not like. What circumstances does Mr. Wilson need to see a normal return and the reopening of Ryanair's...

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

Cathal Crowe: There are 24 regimes relating to orange and red countries. Mr. Wilson referenced four countries, namely, Spain, Italy, France and Germany. He likes the regime they have in treating red and orange countries but he does not agree with the other regimes, including Ireland.

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

Cathal Crowe: What would bring Ryanair back to Shannon? What circumstances does Mr. Wilson need to change?

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

Cathal Crowe: This has been a real blow to everyone with an interest in aviation. To follow up on the point made by our Chairman, in the week of the announcement of the traffic light system, Ryanair announced the winter closure of its Shannon and Cork bases. In the week the new regime begins, it will withdraw from flights. It is important it is said, and we heard it in the last comment, that this is...