Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party)
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I welcome the Minister of State.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I am happy to update the House on the recent travel disruption at Dublin Airport and contingency planning in place for the coming weeks. We experienced the first snowfall of the year in Dublin last Thursday night. While all surfaces at Dublin Airport were pre-emptively treated through the night and were fully open and operational on Friday and throughout the weekend, unfortunately, passengers were adversely impacted by flight cancellations and delays due to the conditions overall at the time. The role of the Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, is to maintain runways, taxiways, aprons and stands to facilitate aircraft movements . The DAA has advised me that it is well equipped to do this with all the necessary machinery available. Airlines and their ground handling service providers are responsible for de-icing aircraft. The DAA has advised that it put in place all the necessary preparation and work to ensure the airport remained operational throughout this exceptionally cold weather event. The DAA also advised that Dublin Airport's snow and ice teams worked throughout the night to ensure runways, taxiways, aprons and stands were fully operational. However, I understand that ice clearance was a challenge for the whole airport community on Friday due to the severity of the conditions. Some airlines experienced significant delays and disruptions to their flight schedules because of difficulties they had in de-icing their aircraft. I understand difficulties were also experienced at times in clearing ice from aprons and stands at the airport.

I commend the continuing hard work of staff at the airport, and all those who operate within the airport ecosystem, who worked throughout the night and recent days to ensure the flights that did take off were able to do so safely. Safety must always be the top priority.

As I mentioned, airlines and their ground handling service providers are responsible for de-icing aircraft. There have been between seven to nine de-icing units in operation at Dublin Airport by the relevant service providers over recent days. It is ultimately the responsibility of the airlines and their ground handling agents to ensure they have sufficient staff and resources in place to deal with demand. Some airlines flew in de-icing crews from other airports to bolster their capacity on Saturday and I understand these have remained on-site.

The weather on Thursday night into Friday morning resulted in very high humidity, some precipitation and below-zero temperatures, which presented a particular challenge in respect of ground ice control and de-icing aircraft. Airlines typically get over an hour of effectiveness from a de-icing application of Glycol, although in some cases on Friday this was as low as 20 minutes. This created a significant and unusual level of demand on airlines and their de-icing contractors for repeat or enhanced de-icing and was the primary contributor to delays and cancellations on Friday and, to a lesser extent, on Saturday. Over the weekend, the major disruption experienced by passengers alleviated somewhat and the majority of first-wave departures from Dublin Airport on Sunday morning took off without any undue delays.

It is worth noting the disruption to passengers was not confined to Dublin Airport. The weather over Thursday and Friday was not as severe in the west of the country and while our regional airports remained open and operational, they were impacted to some extent by issues at other airports, which resulted in some delays to inbound flights and cancellations. Stansted and Gatwick Airports had to close temporarily to clear snow from their runways, and yellow warnings of ice, fog and snow have been in place for much of the UK. The DAA has advised that the delays and cancellations experienced by passengers since Sunday have largely been driven by weather and subsequent flow restrictions at UK airports.

As Senators are aware, the national emergency co-ordination group, NECG, met on Sunday to provide details on weather conditions expected this week, to review current and potential impacts across all sectors and to understand the mitigation and contingency measures in place. Representatives from the DAA and Shannon Airport have attended the daily NECG briefings and have provided regular updates to the NECG and my Department on operations at our State airports.

I remind Senators that EU Regulation No. 261 of 2004 sets out the rights of air passengers and the resulting obligation on airlines in the event of cancellation, denied boarding and flight delay. In summary, in respect to the cancellation of flights, the regulation provides that where a flight is cancelled, the air carrier must offer the passenger the choice of: rerouting as soon as possible after the original departure time; rerouting at a later date; or a refund of the cost of the unused flight ticket. If the passenger chooses to be rerouted as soon as possible, the airline should offer care and assistance, which should include meals and refreshments; hotel accommodation where an overnight stay becomes necessary; and transport between the hotel accommodation and the airport. If an airline does not provide care and assistance, passengers should make their own reasonable arrangements and retain all receipts in the process. Passengers are advised to then submit copies of these receipts to their airline for reimbursement. In Ireland, the Commission for Aviation Regulation, CAR, is the designated body in the context of the enforcement of the regulation. The CAR is proactive in its engagement with airlines on matters relating to the application of passenger rights.

My officials and I continue to engage regularly with the DAA in respect of operational readiness at the airport this Christmas. The DAA is particularly focused on passenger throughput times at security screening given the busy holiday period ahead. Earlier this morning, I met with the DAA's interim CEO and senior management who updated me on Dublin Airport's readiness for the expected busy Christmas period. The plan is focused on ensuring lane supply meets passenger demand on an hour-by-hour basis in each terminal. The DAA also has several contingency measures in place in the event that they may be required.

Recruitment and retention of security airport search unit, ASU, officers remains a key area of concern for the DAA. However, it has advised that it continues to recruit - as it has done continuously over the past 12 months - for a number of roles at Dublin Airport. The DAA's concerted recruitment campaign included its recent jobs fair, which attracted more than 800 potential candidates. The DAA is focused on generating a strong pipeline of potential candidates for the roles available to enable the authority to meet both the current and future needs of the business. Over the year, following a concerted recruitment campaign in 2021, an additional 300 security officers are now employed at Dublin Airport. Currently, the security ASU headcount is 645, which means that the DAA is at 90% of staffing levels compared with the same period in 2019. There are also more than 100 other security staff who work at the airport's vehicle control posts.

On passenger wait times at security, I am pleased to advise that, since the summer, Dublin Airport has experienced vast improvements in security queue times. The DAA has advised that, last month, 90% of all passengers queued for 20 minutes or less and 98% queued for 30 minutes or less. In total, since June, almost 17 million passengers have been processed through the airport without any significant security related challenges. I assure the House that I will continue to engage with the DAA as we welcome those arriving in Dublin Airport for the Christmas period and facilitate those who are departing from the airport to reconnect with loved ones over the festive period.Collectively, our focus will be on ensuring all passengers using the airport have as seamless a journey as possible at this busy time of year.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for her presence this afternoon. I acknowledge that we have a severe weather alert and there has been a major issue across Europe with weather incidents. It is important that the 35,000 passengers and travelling members of the public who have been discommoded over the past five days are looked after and adequately and properly recompensed. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, which has heard concerns expressed around the preparedness of Dublin Airport Authority for the Christmas holiday period. Notwithstanding the weather, and the points the Minister of State made in her very informative speech, is the DAA prepared? What was the contingency plan for de-icing? The Minister of State mentioned that within an hour of de-icing, people had to be brought in to de-ice again.

In the Lower House, Deputy McDonald, the leader of Sinn Féin, accused the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, of being asleep. To be fair to him, it is not the Minister's job, nor is it the role of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to make sure everything is prepared and the airport is winter ready. It is the role of the DAA. I know from engaging with the management and staff of the DAA that they are very competent and capable people, but the debacle last summer raises concerns among us all, if we are being honest, and not just among the travelling public.

Many independent commentators and analysts will tell us that travel numbers are back to pre-Covid levels. The Christmas travel period is coming. Representatives of Ryanair recently appeared before the transport committee and Aer Lingus representatives appeared at it this morning. I am a little concerned. The Minister of State indicated that the number of staff before Christmas was to be 800. There are now 645 so that leaves a deficit of 155 staff members. Representatives of Aer Lingus reported the same figures this morning at the committee. The company met the DAA about different issues.

Our job in this House and on the transport committee is to represent the people and we would not be doing our job properly or correctly if we did not articulate the need for the DAA to come forward with a clear and precise plan. To be fair, the Minister of State gave us an outline of that based on her meeting with the DAA's chief executive. Does the Dublin Airport Authority have the capacity to deal with the surge in people travelling for Christmas? Mr. Kevin Cullinane, who is a very fine official and a valued member of staff and management in the DAA, stated the airport would be able to cope with the volume of passengers. We thought the same last summer and look what happened.

The Minister of State spoke about the number of lanes open, the number of staff on duty, processing ability and queue times. That is excellent but the plan is only as good as its execution. If the plan is not carried out to the letter of the law, there could be trouble and I do not want that to happen. As we all know, our aviation sector is critical to jobs and central to our tourism sector, both for inbound tourism and, more important, outbound tourism in the context of the perception of Ireland.

I am pleased the Minister of State has met with representatives of Dublin Airport Authority and was given reassurance. It shows that she and her colleague, the Minister, have been proactive. There is a grey area between the responsibility of the airline and that of the DAA. To be perfectly honest, the members of the travelling public do not care, do not know and do not necessarily want to know where the responsibility lies. All I want to know, if I am taking a flight from Dublin to Rome, for example, is that I will get there at X time, get back at Y time and I will not be discommoded. Anecdotally, I understand some people spent five days trying to get in and out of the airport.

I thank the Minister for her presentation and her engagement. It is reassuring that she has been proactively engaged on the matter. She must hold the DAA to account. The travelling public want her to do that. I thank her for being here and for the meeting today.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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Like Senator Buttimer, I extend the fáilte ar ais go dtí an Teach seo to the Minister of State. She has been here on numerous occasions and I fully acknowledge that she is in touch with the situation and is doing her best to handle it. We do not get snow and frost in this country very often and when it happens it throws down a challenge. To be fair to everybody involved, we are not like countries that are dealing with these issues all the time. Having said that, we need to make sure the Dublin Airport Authority has the capacity to de-ice and prepare for extreme weather events to maintain key connectivity through aviation. We know how important that is on this little island, particularly at Christmas or during the summer.

State agencies are established by law. They are resourced and people are appointed to senior positions. There is an obligation on them to be prepared and to respond to situations such as these. That said, Dublin Airport is not the only airport, as the Minister of State noted, that has had challenges during this period. Part of the problem was due to Manchester and Heathrow airports having issues. They had significant challenges and these spilled over into Dublin Airport. We should acknowledge that as well. There was severe fog and snow in the UK, which forced airlines to cancel flights causing disruption at Dublin Airport.

I am aware the Minister of State and her officials engage regularly with DAA senior management in relation to the be winter-ready operation, focusing particularly on security screening operations, which were among the issues experienced over the summer period. Senator Buttimer is right that none of us likes to be discommoded when travelling by air. We are on deadlines and we have to get to other places. I have seen people who get delayed at airports getting very frustrated. For those with families, it is extraordinary to be delayed at an airport and have to hang around for hours.

In some parts of the country, people are saying the county roads and footpaths have not been gritted. This is because we are not ready every winter, even though we have lots of salt to ensure certain roads can be gritted. If Dublin Airport Authority believes I am wrong on this, that is fine, but in my view, the DAA has not got up and running again as it should have since Covid-19. The staffing levels are not sufficient, as Senator Buttimer stated. The Minister of State had some pretty good news in that respect but they are still not up to the level needed. What sort of deal are the people working in the airport getting? These are very important people running a very significant part of industry. They, and all the emergency services, should be paid and looked after well. Is the DAA offering them a good deal or is there a difficulty in trying to get people to work? I acknowledge that having 800 people attend a workshop is positive for employment in the future and hopefully that will have good results. However, I wonder if these people are being treated well enough. They are a vital part of keeping our society going, not alone at Christmas but throughout the year. Dublin Airport is an extremely busy spot.

As regards dealing with the weather, I know from somebody inside the airport that there was a massive issue with de-icing. The runway was de-iced and before the planes were able to use the runway, the ice had formed again. As the Minister of State said, they had to be de-iced a second time.That is an extraordinary challenge and safety has to be a priority. In general, I am satisfied the Minister of State is doing her best. I know she is keeping a close eye on the situation coming up to Christmas. We do not know how the weather will be. Met Éireann seems to say it will go this way or that way and we could still have frosty, cold weather. I know the Minister of State is in touch with DAA, which I appreciate, but does the authority need to take a look at itself with regard to employing people again? It is important to have the exact number of people who are needed in the system to keep it flowing and working properly.

Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I thank her for being here. I asked on the Order of Business yesterday that we would have statements on this issue and I am glad the Deputy Leader and the Minister of State were able to facilitate that because it is an important issue. The Minister has laid out the reasons it is an important issue quite comprehensively. l acknowledge that we all accept this is a multilayered, multifaceted and multi-agency issue with responsibility across a range of Departments, State and non-State agencies, private interests and others. No one is saying an approach to these issues is straightforward or simple. Senator Buttimer will be familiar with the famous Cork man, Roy Keane, saying, "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail". That is the problem here.

Colleagues have referenced the chaotic scenes in Dublin Airport during the summer, but it seems when we come in to talk about what is happening in the airport, we are not coming in to talk about how important the aviation sector is to our economy, communities, job creation and our tourism sector. We are coming in, unfortunately, to deal retrospectively with crisis management. Senator Murphy is correct in that we do not get extreme frost and cold snaps every year but winter is winter and it could come aniar aduaidh orainn, unexpectedly, at any stage. If we cannot be prepared for adverse weather that is cold and pretty standard, it does not bode well for planning for other even more unique and uncommon situations that might be faced down the line.

I agree with Senator Buttimer in that I do not think anyone expects it is the responsibility of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, or any other Minister to get out to de-ice a plane or grit a runway but, ultimately, the clue is in the title. He is the Minister for Transport and this is a transport issue. We are reaching the point now where someone in government needs to get a grip on the numerous issues coming to light in failing to prepare. We have seen the evidence of that.

I have to caveat my remarks by saying I am appreciative of the Minister of State's coming in here to outline the actions the Government is taking and the important points she made regarding air passenger rights and what passengers are entitled to. I encourage her, if she has not done so, to think of a way to get that message into the public domain better to ensure passengers are aware of their rights, entitlements and protections in situations such as those we have seen in the past number of days.

It is not too much that we as representatives and, indeed, the community has the right to expect that a major European airport such as Dublin Airport would have contingency plans and strategies in place, especially in winter time, to deal with incidents of cold and adverse weather. There needs to be strategic oversight but responsibility also needs to be taken for the failure to plan.

I would also like to acknowledge the workers in Dublin Airport who, not just over the past couple of days but the past couple of months and years, have been up against it. It has not been easy for them. They are all human and I hope they sympathise and empathise with the people who found themselves in this predicament at this time of the year. Together we have to ensure we give the staff and workers the capacity to deliver a first-class service that, in turn, makes sure that anyone travelling in or out, especially in the run-up to Christmas, gets out safely and effectively and in a way that causes the least amount of disruption for everyone. I thank the Minister of State for taking the time to come in. I wish to hear a bit more, not just about this situation, but the situation going forward to ensure there are no repeats in the time ahead. I wish to hear what the departmental officials and the Minister will do to ensure Dublin Airport is prepared and, ultimately, that the Minister will have the oversight to ensure delivery for people.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I have listened carefully to the issues the Senators have raised and I assure them of ongoing communication with the DAA and weekly meetings on this. We are all on the same page in ensuring passengers make their flights on time and that we can move our passengers safely through the airport, especially over this festive period. I assure the Senators that is my priority.

It is worth recalling why and how the disruption occurred over the weekend at Dublin Airport. Following the cold weather across the weekend, temperatures fell to below -5°C in many parts of the country and the average temperature on Monday evening was -2°C. According to Met Éireann, Ireland experienced its lowest temperatures in 12 years on Monday. The adverse conditions impacted our airports throughout the country, which resulted in flight delays and cancellations. Some flights were also diverted where necessary and possible. On Monday, three flights had to be diverted from Cork Airport, as low visibility conditions prevented them from landing. All three planes landed safely in Shannon Airport and returned to Cork when the conditions improved. However, this had a knock-on impact in that it caused significant delays to some outbound services.

The United Kingdom also experienced its coldest weather since 2010. This meant passengers intending to travel to the UK by air this weekend were impacted, not only by the weather here, but by the conditions in the UK. Manchester Airport closed for a time on Friday and Gatwick and Stansted airports closed their runways on Sunday due to the bad weather. Delays and cancellations at these airports carried through to Monday and it is worth noting 70% of the cancellations at Dublin Airport have been related to flights originating from or departing to UK destinations. This reflects the high level of traffic between our jurisdictions.

I am also advised Dublin Airport's ice plan remains in place and runways, taxiways and apron areas are being continuously monitored. An additional airfield-and-apron snow plan was implemented on Saturday night as teams worked through the night to clear deposits in anticipation of further freezing temperatures. These airport workers are commended for their ongoing efforts. It is important, as Senators have done, to acknowledge the hard work of all the staff at the airport for their dedication in helping passengers move safely through the airport. Of course it is not only airport staff who are involved in ensuring the airport remains operational and safe. Airline crew, ground handling staff and other support workers work to keep the airport open in order that flights can depart and land safely. The current weather events have magnified this intricate ecosystem once again. I thank them for the extra effort they are putting in.

The DAA expects the airport will remain busy over the coming weeks with total passenger numbers on a par with the same period in 2019, although some individual airlines may be slightly above or below their respective 2019 levels. I am advised by the DAA that it also remains in continuous contact with the airline partners on the forecasted passenger numbers for the Christmas period. The House should also be aware that while the busiest days of the Christmas season at the airport will see a total of 90,000 passengers, Dublin Airport has been facilitating this level of activity on a regular basis since May. In fact, the airport has handled in excess of 90,000 passengers on more than 40 days this year with more than half of those days occurring towards the end of July.

Security lanes were not mentioned in the debate and I will give the House an update.Detailed hour-by-hour passenger estimates for the airport are examined by the DAA to calculate and plan for the number of security lanes required at any given time at each terminal. The DAA regularly communicates with its airline partners as part of this process to facilitate planning and the allocation of resources, as appropriate.

With regard to the number of security lanes that are open at a given time, Senators will appreciate that it is not efficient, feasible or necessary for Dublin Airport to operate all of its security lanes at all times, especially when there may not be enough passenger traffic to make this essential. The DAA has advised that it plans to open the optimum number of security lanes required to satisfy anticipated demand.

Again, it is worth noting, that since June, almost 17 million passengers have been processed through the airport without any notable security-related challenges. In November, 98% of passengers queued for 30 minutes or less. More recently, in the first week of December, 98% of all passengers queued for 30 minutes or less while virtually all other passengers were processed in under 45 minutes. There is a task force in place, overtime is available and a number of contingency measures are in place. The real evidence is the time it takes passengers to get through security and that is a measurement the Department is certainly watching.

I stress to those who intend to travel that it is important they follow the advice of their airline and the airport and present at the appropriate time for their flight departure.

I assure Senators that I will continue to engage with the DAA's interim CEO and senior management to ensure all necessary preparations are being made by the DAA in order that passengers have a satisfactory and efficient experience passing through the airport over the holiday period. I also assure the House that I will continue to engage with the DAA in the new year with regard to its preparation for the summer of 2023.

Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party)
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I thank the Minister of State for her time.