Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a query. Twice the Minister of State has stated that if we called it a licence holders forum, that would exclude the airline carriers that have operating licences to be airline carriers. I refer to the amendment to establish the licence holders forum, as put forward by my colleagues, namely, amendment No. 1. It provides that the body of the licence holders forum would include any air carrier holding an air carrier operating licence; any recognised trade union or recognised stakeholder group - which would include IASA - representing 50 or more persons authorised to hold a commercial pilot's licence or airline pilot's transport licence; any recognised trade union or stakeholder group representing 50 or more persons licensed or authorised by the IAA other than holders of commercial pilot licences or airline transport pilot licences. Where the particular class of licensed person is less than 50, then 50% of their actual numbers by function shall suffice.

The wording of amendment No. 1 provides that everybody who has an interest and particularly is involved in the inputs and outturns of safety in the aviation industry would be at that licence holders forum. I have a real concern that calling it a stakeholders forum and allowing anybody and everybody with an interest in aviation, hospitality, tourism and whatever we would like to include ourselves will do nothing but dilute the forum which does not have any compellability, a schedule or diary of meetings and does not have a requirement to produce a stakeholders forum within any period of months arising from the first meeting depending on who does or does not show up. It is all very loose and we are proposing to make it even looser by allowing any Tom, Dick or Harry who has an interest in aviation to be added to a stakeholders' group as opposed to a licence holders group.