Regina Doherty (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very glad the Minister of State had the opportunity to make that comprehensive statement because I fear, from looking at the transcripts of the last engagement that we had, we interrupted her so many times that she did not get to finish a sentence. Therefore, I am glad she had that opportunity.

However, I have to be honest with the Minister of State with regard to her statement and the safety recommendation updates for recommendations 2021-031 and 2021-029 that were uploaded to the Air Accident Investigation United, AAIU, website on the 17th. Both of those recommendations arising from R116 failings and from the loss of life from that terrible accident highlighted the fact that neither our search and rescue nor our Department had any expertise. The Department was challenged with reviewing and looking at the expertise. The Minister of State just outlined all of the expertise that is available in the IAA. It is true and it is very reflective of the reality. What is very concerning is that this legislation that has passed the Dáil and which the Government is trying to pass through this House has been drafted to regulate the IAA, and yet, the Minister of State told us the people who are assisted her in drafting the legislation to regulate IAA are, indeed, in the IAA.

Looking at the Department's response to the AAIU, it cited that Department of Transport does not have any in-house expertise. It has contracted aviation expertise available to it, which is great. However, the recent examples the Minister of State cited of the Department’s engagement of expertise to assign or advise on the framing of search and rescue provisions for the Air Navigation and Transport Bill raises the question of who the adviser was for the rest of this Bill. The Minister of State just outlined that the people she relied upon to draft this entirely new regulation and legislation to govern not only our aviation industry but the State authority that is manned to make sure that industry lives up to the standard we expect were the very people who are employed by the regulatory authority the legislation is supposed to be guiding. I hope the Minister of State can tell me that somebody else, whether contracted or not, advised the drafters – be they in the Department or on the Attorney General’s team – relied on more than the expertise in the IAA to draft legislation that is responsible for governing the IAA.It is not even putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. It is beyond belief.