Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate on the ongoing plight of the trainee airline pilots. After much toing and froing over the summer, they have found that the pilot training college in Waterford has gone belly-up, into liquidation. These trainee pilots have paid in something between ¤5 million and ¤10 million for their training and there are different accounts of what has happened. I am deeply concerned about this as the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, has decided to abdicate his responsibility in this regard.

If this type of service or treatment was delivered to any other education facility on this island, whereby almost 300 students were out of pocket for substantial sums, there would be a hue and cry about it.

I raised the matter in the first week of July last, supported by colleagues such as Senators Keane, Whelan and others. While I am not making a political point, something is radically wrong. Substantial sums were paid earlier this year to this training college, which is affiliated to and accredited by the Irish Aviation Authority and supported by the Department. All of a sudden, the money and the company seem to have gone wallop. The Minister made a big play of bringing some, though not all, the pilots back from Florida at a cost of ¤400 or ¤500 each, and had he not done that, they would probably have been sent home by the American immigration authorities.

I make the following points to the Leader. First, were the Garda authorities contacted in this regard? Second, has the Director of Corporate Enforcement been asked to look at what happened in the six months leading up to the collapse of this company and the loss of this money? Third, the Minister and his Department should take a more hands-on approach, take off the kid gloves and tackle this issue head on.

There is a serious issue which is worthy of a debate in this House. The Leader suggested to me on a previous occasion that I should table a motion on the Adjournment. However, this is a broader issue that affects many people who are dealing with education facilities which are similar to third level facilities. As I said, if it was any other college in any other part of Ireland where students were left out of pocket and left half-trained or untrained, there would be a hue and cry. Given this was the House where the matter was first raised, it is a dereliction of our duty not to have a proper debate on it. With all sincerity, I again urge the Leader to consider asking the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, to come to the House for a one or two-hour debate to find out whether we can get to the bottom of this debacle.