John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will raise an issue today on which the Leader has much experience and has been vocal about, both inside and outside this House, namely, the Irish aviation industry. At some stage in the future, I would appreciate if we could table a debate and have the Minister for Transport come into this House to outline his plans - really good, detailed plans - for the Irish aviation industry.

I raise this issue because two or three friends of mine are pilots and many people in my home county of Louth, who are members of the Irish Air Line Pilots Association, IALPA, have gotten in touch with me. It is the last sector of Irish society that will be able to recover after Covid-19 because we will have varying different degrees of Covid recovery, for want of the better word, in different countries.It will be the last sector to get back up on its feet. For that reason and because the sector is unique, I would appreciate it if the Government would consider extending the PUP and the EWSS to much later in the year for those involved in aviation and wider airline sector. Those workers will probably be the last who will be able to avail of the PUP and the EWSS. I say that because of the unique position they are in, as the Leader knows better than anyone else owing to the work she has done on this matter. I ask that the Minister for Transport come to the House and outline a clear plan for ensuring those involved in the aviation sector will have the proper financial supports to fall back on over the coming ten or 12 months as we finally begin to get out of this nightmare we all find ourselves in.