Diarmuid Wilson (Fianna Fail)

I join my colleagues in welcoming the Minister of State to the House and thank him for outlining in great detail the provisions of the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Bill 2005. I compliment Senator Henry on raising the important issue of the increasing number of helicopters using our airspace.

The Bill amends the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993 and makes provision for related matters. Specifically, the Bill reflects changes in the management structure of Eurocontrol and provides for the making of regulations requiring the Irish Aviation Authority to comply with any conditions laid down for the operation of a common European air traffic flow management system at a common international centre. Eurocontrol, the European organisation for the safety of air navigation was established by an international convention in 1960. The provisions of the convention were given effect in the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Act 1963. The formal accession of Ireland to the Eurocontrol organisation came into force on 1 January 1965, which was also a momentous year for other reasons, which I will mention to the Minister in private. Membership of the organisation has continued to grow and now numbers 34 states, including all EU member states except Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The accession of the European Union to Eurocontrol took place on 8 October 2002. As the Minister of State outlined, since the 1960 convention a number of further protocols have been adopted. An additional protocol of 6 July 1970 concerned tax provisions. A protocol of 21 November 1978 amended the 1970 protocol. An amending protocol was adopted on 12 February on a multilateral agreement on route changes which provided for a common policy and joint system for the establishment and collection by Eurocontrol, on behalf of the contracting parties, of en route air traffic control changes in European air space covered by the agreement.

The provisions of the convention and its subsequent protocols were given effect in legislation under the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Acts 1963 to 1983. These Acts were subsequently repealed by the provisions of the convention and subsequent protocols given effect in the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993, which the Minister referred to in detail. The final Act giving effect to the convention and the protocols amended and consolidated the text of the Eurocontrol convention and were signed by Ireland subject to ratification on 27 June 1996. The revised convention will fully come into force when it is ratified by all member states. To date 22 of the 34 member states have done so.

The revised Eurocontrol convention was concluded following several years of negotiation. The changes represent a major revision of the convention and were designed to update it to take account of progress made in the area of air navigational services. The main new provisions of the revised convention include an updating of the objectives of the organisation, a new institutional structure for formulating and implementing its policy, an expansion of the tasks of the organisation to achieve a European air traffic management system, more effective decision making based on majority voting and an enabling power for European Union membership of Eurocontrol. Many of the provisions of the revised convention do not require legislative changes as they are already provided for in existing legislation or relate to administrative arrangements for the operation of the Eurocontrol agency.

In the late 1990s the sharp rise in European air traffic led to substantial air traffic control related delays, to which the Minister of State referred. Some colleagues have experienced such delays recently. This prompted the European Commission to launch its own initiative in December 1999 with a communication entitled The Creation of the Single European Sky. This proposal envisaged Eurocontrol acting as a technical adviser to the single sky committee and playing a significant role in defining and developing the rules.

I will raise two points with the Minister of State. First, what additional costs will arise to the State from the passing of this legislation? Second, we do not have an airport in Cavan so we must use the airport in Dublin. To get there we have to use the road. I thank the Minister of State for the work he and Minister for Transport, Deputy Cullen, are doing on progressing the N3. This road is very important to the people living in Cavan, Meath and north Leitrim who need to get to Dublin, whether for the airport or for work. I urge him to keep pressing to get this road under construction as quickly as possible. We will discuss the rail link to Cavan at a later date.