Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am sorry but a number of things have happened since we were last in the House discussing the Bill and they need to be cleared up before we go any further. With respect to Senator Buttimer, of course the air traffic control people were excellent. We are separating them out. This is part of what is happening in the Bill. I do not have a problem with what takes place in Shannon. It was highly expert.

There are two things that are troubling me today. The first of these is that I was approached by the very organisation the Bill will cover to lobby me to have the Bill passed. The AAIU has recommended to the Minister that the Minister separates everybody so they have their own independent aviation experts. This recommendation was made on 5 November 2021. The expert is not the IAA. It is that body which we are trying to regulate. One of the key findings in the report is the lack of oversight by the Department of Transport of the IAA. Whether we like it or do not like it, this is the key issue in the AAIU's report.

Another recommendation is that the Minister for Transport institutes a detailed review of the IAA regulatory and oversight mechanisms to ensure that they are sufficiently robust and comprehensive and that the interface and delineation of responsibilities are clearly defined and understood by the IAA and the entities it regulates. It is the job of the Department of Transport to regulate the IAA. It is the job of the IAA to regulate the industry. We cannot have collusion between the Department and the IAA in order to pass the Bill. I asked at the outset who in the Department is the qualified aviation expert advising the Minister. I do not accept that the IAA, which will be regulated by the Bill, can advise the Minister on anything to do with the Bill. This is not the function of the IAA.

There is good legislation in the Bill and it is needed. The point behind it is the debacle that led to Rescue 116 and four brave people being lost at Blackrock Island in County Mayo. They were lost because of a number of failings. Those failings occurred right across the system, from the Department to everybody involved in aviation. The Minister of State was not in position at the time and she holds no responsibility for it. I am sorry the Bill has taken as long as it has to go through the House. Surely the Minister of State can see the point being made by the AAIU. She should have her own independent aviation advice. I ask her again whether there is an aviation expert on the staff in the Department of Transport.

I do not doubt any of the things Senator Buttimer referred to with respect to experiential learning and experience with respect to drafting legislation. What I do have a problem with is that we had an accident that cost four people their lives. Following that accident 44 recommendations were made. I have just addressed two of these recommendations. I am deeply uncomfortable with the fact that I was lobbied by the organisation we are trying to regulate in order to get the Bill passed. Am I alone in this? Am I the only person in the room who sees something wrong with this?