Seanad debates

Thursday, 18 November 2021

Air Accident Investigation Unit Final Report into R116 Air Accident: Statements

 

10:30 am

Photo of Fintan WarfieldFintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I join colleagues here and in the Lower House in expressing my deepest sympathies and those of Sinn Féin to the families, friends and colleagues of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy, winchman Ciarán Smith and winch operator Paul Ormsby. The crew of Rescue 116 were fearless, selfless and dedicated to helping others in distress and in life-threatening circumstances. They were typical of the members and volunteers of the Irish Coast Guard and our emergency services. As we debate here today, our thoughts are with the families, friends and colleagues of those involved in the awful circumstances of that tragic mission.

I thank the members of the Air Accident Investigation Unit for their extensive report into the crash. The investigation was thorough, so too the report's recommendations. The Minister has accepted the recommendations and that is important. It is more important that the Minister presents a timeline for when each of those 42 safety recommendations will be fully addressed and implemented, and how those organisations referred to in the report will also implement those recommendations relating to them. The recommendations require urgent attention and speedy implementation if we are to avoid the risk of another tragedy. Part of the implementation plan should include the Department or the Minister appearing before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport to give an update on the plan.

The report's findings raised questions for the State, its agencies and the operator. One of the findings is very alarming. It states that there was confusion at State level regarding the responsibility for oversight and rescue operations. The Minister needs to ensure that this key finding has resolved the issue of confusion and there is now no confusion regarding responsibility for oversight.The report's comments about the aeronautical data, including maps, charts and imagery, available to the crew on that night are also striking. The Irish Air Line Pilots Association has said that the crew:

[...]relied on the data production standards of Irish regulation to guarantee them correct information. They were let down.

It is alarming, to say the least, that the report highlights documented concerns about absent aeronautical data some four years before the crash of R116 and that no action was taken to address these. I hope and expect that new and more effective procedures are now in place to pick up on issues and concerns as they arise and that they are rectified immediately. The report also highlights issues to do with the training of the crew and the comments of the family of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick reflect these concerns. The family has said the crew was not provided "with the safe operating procedures and training that they were entitled to expect."

This report provides the basis for ensuring that the correct lessons are learned and acted upon. It is not an opportunity to be missed. I know the Minister of State knows that. It is an opportunity to ensure that no other families will experience the heartbreak felt by the families of the crew of R116. I thank the Minister of State again for coming to the House this evening.

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