Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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42. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if all the recommendations addressed to him in the Air Accident Investigation Unit Accident Report EI-ICR S-92A, 14 March 2017 published in November 2021 have been fully completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13213/22]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The final Report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) into the Rescue 116 Accident at Blackrock, Co Mayo on 14 March 2017 was published on 5 November 2021. The Report contains 42 Safety Recommendations of which 14 are addressed to the Minister for Transport.

A formal (and separate) response was required to each of the fourteen transmittal letters containing the Safety Recommendations addressed to the Minister of Transport from the report. This requirement is set out in EU Regulation No 996/2010 which states the addressee of a Safety Recommendation shall acknowledge receipt of the transmittal letter and inform the safety investigation authority (in this case the AAIU) of the actions taken or under consideration, and where appropriate, of the time necessary for their completion and where no action is taken, the reasons therefor.

The responses were required by 3rd Feb 2022 and were provided in advance of that date. The responses will in due course be made public on the AAIU website via the associated published Investigation Report, and in the European Safety Recommendation Information System.

In addition to prescribing the response to the Safety Recommendations, Article 18 of EU Reg 996 of 2010 also requires the AAIU to inform the addressees of Safety Recommendations within 60 days whether or not it considers their reply or replies adequate. The AAIU can also seek more information or clarification in relation to any aspect of a response.  Furthermore, if responses include details of actions to be taken, the AAIU will note that but the Safety Recommendation will remain open until such time as the AAIU is satisfied that the actions have been concluded.

Around the time of the publication of the AAIU Final Report I stated that I fully accepted the recommendations addressed to me contained within the report. However, my Department did not wait for the publication of the Final Report in order to implement changes on foot of lessons learned following the accident. Since March 2017, and specifically following receipt of the draft Final Report in September 2019, the Department, and particularly the Irish Coast Guard, has undertaken a significant programme of change across key areas to take account of issues raised and recommendations addressed to the Minister of Transport.

On foot of the interim report of the Air Accident Investigation Unit the then Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport commissioned an independent review of oversight arrangements for search and rescue aviation operations in Ireland. Following publication of this independent review, known as the AQE Report, in September 2018, the then Minister committed to implementing its twelve recommendations.

The measures that have been taken fall under six broad categories:

1. Development of a new national search and rescue framework (the National SAR Plan)

2. Enhancing safety and oversight across the Search & Rescue system

3. Addressing oversight of Search & Rescue aviation elements– nationally and internationally

4. Review and revision of all relevant Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and training for Coast Guard personnel, particularly Rescue Coordination Centre staff training with a focus on aviation tasking. This includes the introduction of a formal course on tasking of aviation assets delivered by an IAA Authorised Training Organisation (ATO).

5. Development of an externally accredited safety management system in the Coast Guard

6. Review of governance arrangements in relation to the aviation contractor, enhancing aviation expertise in critical areas and legislative reform of the IAA.

It is appropriate to refrain from detailed comment until such time as the AAIU have had an opportunity to provide their formal replies to our responses to their recommendations.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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43. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a recommendation (details supplied) has been implemented in full; the person or body that is providing the technical expertise to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13214/22]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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My Department formally responded to the Chief Inspector of Air Accidents in respect of each safety recommendation addressed to me, in advance of the 90 day timeframe required under the relevant EU legislation. The EU legislation requires the Air Accident Investigation Unit to inform the Department within 60 days of receipt of those responses, whether or not it considers the replies adequate. That period has not yet expired. 

My Department has contracted aviation expertise available to it and draws on advice when required.   In addition, periodic review of the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) by the Department is built into the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993. Section 32 of the 1993 Act requires me to appoint an independent person or body to carry out an examination of the performance by the IAA of its functions in so far as they relate to the application and enforcement of technical and safety standards in relation to aircraft and air navigation. The examination is a safeguard to ensure that safety standards are upheld. The most recent section 32 examination was carried out in 2019.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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44. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a recommendation (details supplied) has been completed in full; and if so, when the detailed review will be published. [13215/22]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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A focused review of the Irish Aviation Authority’s (IAA) role as national civil aviation regulator was completed in 2021. The independent review, carried out by Bureau Veritas, focused on areas of regulation that are outside the EU regulatory framework. The scope of the review covered the full range of activities in respect of aircraft operations, airworthiness, licensing, aerodromes and air navigation services.  The review did not cover search and rescue, as this was the subject of a separate review carried out as part of the 2019 Section 32 Examination of the IAA. 

The report of the review was published on 28 January 2022 on the Department of Transport’s website: www.gov.ie/en/publication/2598f-publication-of-report-of-review-of-the-iaa/.