Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

Senator McDowell is a lawyer of some subtlety and perspicacity. I cannot think of any clearer language to express who the carrier is. It is either the owner of the vehicle or the person in charge of the vehicle. Where Aer Lingus or any other airline delegates to another company the checking of passenger documentation, it does so at its own risk. If it carries someone who is undocumented, that is its problem. The Bill does not allow it to say it has complied with its duties because Servisair in Paris did it. The obligation is non-transferable. Whoever owns or is in charge of the vehicle carries the liability. There a difference between the owner and the person in charge because the vast majority of aircraft are owned by leasing companies.

There must be a definition of this kind. People cannot cast off their liability under this Bill if they are a carrier. It does not matter a whit if they have done the checking themselves or asked someone to do the checking for them, or whether that person is an independent contractor or an employee. It is immaterial to the liability of the carrier. It is clear if the Senator consults the definition of "carrier" that is so.