Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to the Chamber. The vaccination performance over the last number of weeks in particular is welcome. For a long time, one would have had a hard time trying to find someone who had received a vaccine, but now we are meeting plenty of people who have had it, including family members and, thankfully, parents. It is, dare I say it, a shot in the arm for society in terms of providing hope for the future and that is welcome.

On the Bill, it is regrettable that it has to be brought forward. It is a contingency in case it is required. I hope that over the coming months the necessity for measures like this will lessen. The vast majority of people have abided by and supported the health measures that have been in place, but, of course, as always, there are people who have not.Those who have abided by the health measures are looking at those who have not. It is difficult for the former, because they are seeing people not complying while they are. That is why regulations such as these are necessary.

Similar to Senator Ward, I met members of Recover Irish Aviation. I have received communication previously from the Irish Air Line Pilots Association, IALPA, regarding its industry, which is on its knees across the world. We understand why that is the case, but it needs a roadmap and the early resumption of travel. The digital green certificate will be an important game changer in that respect but the industry needs to be able to plan and ensure that its pilots have the required hours of training in advance of that date. It needs to know when that reopening will take place.

The US is important to us in terms of the economy, our mutual relationship, emigration, and the many visitors from there who come to Ireland annually. As quickly as possible, we need to consider countries like the US when allowing vaccinated people to enter Ireland.

Together with the pathway towards resuming aviation that the Minister is planning, the digital green certificate will be important. I hope he will announce the pathway, or its date, after this week's Cabinet meeting. The industry needs hope and certainty. Technical issues also arise, for example, pilots requiring a certain amount of training before they can get back into the skies. We know the importance of the aviation sector to an island nation. We know the relationships within the European Union, as well as the competition in the EU's aviation sector. We also know of our particular relationship with the United States - our historic ties, the number of US tourists that visit Ireland annually and the importance of the US to our economy, including Shannon and the regions. We need to consider the United States in particular in terms of measures that could be put in place to support the resumption of unfettered travel between both jurisdictions.

I have great sympathy for the aviation sector. We have seen decisions being made somewhat opportunistically, for example, the decision regarding cabin crew services in Shannon. Why waste a good crisis and all of that? If we lose services, getting them back will be more difficult. There would be opportunities for other airlines to come to Ireland, provide routes and see the weaknesses in Aer Lingus or whatever else, but the damage that could be done to our airline industry into the future would be significant.

The pathway will be very important. Ireland should participate fully in the digital green certificate at the earliest opportunity, be that 1 July, which would be preferable, or the end of July. I thank the Minister for his work to date.