Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Craughwell. The whole purpose of us doing this legislation, apart from splitting the functions of the IAA, is to try to make aviation safer. It does not sound like rocket science. An enormous part of making the world of aviation safer is to make sure the people who actually run it are mindful of their responsibility. One of the tragedies we saw in Europe a number of years ago gave rise to the need for EU Regulation 2018/1042 to be implemented by the European Commission. I am relating this part of my contribution because it concerns me that a written communication from the Department tells us the reason the Department does not feel that crew peer support should be in primary legislation is because it is already regulated by EU Regulation 2018/1042. The understanding of the Department is that airlines are responsible for putting in place peer support programmes for their own flight crew. However, when we actually read the regulation, it states that an operator shall enable, facilitate and ensure access to a proactive and non-punitive programme.