Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 177: To ask the Minister for Transport if his attention has been drawn to the continued concerns of Irish business to some of the provisions of the Eurocontrol Bill; and the way in which he proposes to address these concerns. [3125/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The main purpose of the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Bill 2005 is to give effect to the international convention on co-operation for the safety of air navigation. The convention is the result of negotiations on a revision of the original convention signed in 1960 to take into account developments since then relating to the provision of air navigation services.

I am aware of the concerns of some aircraft leasing companies about the provisions in the revised Eurocontrol convention concerning attaching debts to Eurocontrol as a lien on the aircraft and making the operator and owner jointly and severally liable for such debts. These provisions are not included in the published Bill.

Under the convention, Ireland is under no compulsion to legislate for the creation of liens or joint and several liability. Rather, it is at the discretion of each contracting party to introduce domestic law to implement this element of the convention. I can therefore assure the Deputy that the passage of this Bill in its current form will not increase our current powers concerning the detention and sale of aircraft for unpaid charges. These provisions have been in place since 1988.

The leasing companies have also voiced concerns about the powers contained in earlier Acts dating from 1988 and they have asked that they be modified in the Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) Bill 2005. As a result, I consulted with the Office of the Attorney General and other interested parties, namely, the Irish Aviation Authority, the Dublin Airport Authority and Eurocontrol. All argued against the removal or dilution of the existing powers of detention and sale.

Following consideration of all the views expressed on both sides, I have decided not to make any changes to the existing powers at this point. The Bill will come before the House in the coming days and I will deal with these issues in more detail at that point.