Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the brief she has just given us with respect to the aviation expertise that is available in the IAA. I am delighted they are there. It is vitally important that the IAA is staffed with experts in all aspects of aviation in order that it can do the job we are legislating for it to do.

However, moving on from what Senator Doherty has said, I still have not got an answer today as to whether the Department of Transport has an aviation expert on its staff. I do not care how many contractors, consultants or anything else there are. I will come back to the IAA's input into the legislation in a few moments. I want a simple "Yes" or "No". Do we have an expert in the Department of Transport, employed by the Department of Transport, paid by the State, paying his or her PRSI, contributing to his or her pension for public service? Do we have such an expert on the Department's staff?