Air Navigation and Transport (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-10 ============================================================ Gerard P. Craughwell (IND), Labour Panel The Minister of State is welcome to the House. This Bill purports to offer clarity, control and enhanced protection within our aviation system. Such aims are both necessary and commendable. However, it is incumbent on us as legislators to look beyond the language and intent and to scrutinise the substance of what is proposed. On that basis, I contend that the Bill is, in its current form, populist in concept and unworkable in practice. At its core, the Bill reduces highly complex international integrated systems into a series of overlaid, simplified measures. Aviation is not a policy domain that operates in isolation; it is governed by rigorous international standards, co-operative regulatory frameworks and technical precision. Any attempt to impose sweeping unilateral changes without full alignment with these structures risks significant operational and legal consequences. The Bill places considerable emphasis on decisive national action. However, decisiveness alone does not equate to effectiveness. By prioritising immediate political appeal over careful policy design, the legislation introduces provisions that may conflict with established international obligations and practices. This creates uncertainty for airlines, regulators and international partners – uncertainty that could disrupt operations, increase costs and undermine confidence in our aviation sector. Serious concerns arise in relation to feasibility and implementation. The Bill purports to expand oversight and enforcement responsibilities, yet it is notably silent on practical means by which these responsibilities are to be discharged. I will make an analogy. We could introduce a traffic law and provide no gardaí to enforce it. What do you do? It means absolutely nothing. There are no clear provisions for the resources, staffing or institutional capacity required to give effect to these measures. Legislative ambition without corresponding operational support inevitably results in provisions that are ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst. The imbalance places an undue burden on regulatory authorities which are already tasked with maintaining the highest standards of safety in a demanding and complex environment. To extend their obligations without equipping them adequately risks diluting rather than strengthening the effectiveness of oversight. The potential economic implications cannot be overlooked. Aviation is a vital component of national connectivity, trade and tourism. Any policy framework that introduces regulatory uncertainty or operational friction has consequences that expand far beyond the sector itself. The cumulative effect may be to weaken rather than reinforce a strategically important industry. There is also a broader institutional concern. The enactment of legislation that cannot effectively be implemented risks eroding public and stakeholder confidence in the legislative process. That is an important point. If you cannot effectively implement the legislation, what is the purpose behind it? What are we doing? Laws must not only be well intentioned, they must also be credible and enforceable. The issues this Bill seeks to address are legitimate in every way and I commend those who put it together. Safety, accountability and the protection of national interests are matters of importance. However, these objectives cannot be achieved through measures that prioritise visibility over viability. A more appropriate approach would involve thorough consultation with industry experts, close alignment with international regulatory frameworks and a clearly articulated resource implementation strategy. Effective legislation in this domain must be grounded in technical expertise and operational realism. In its present form, the Bill falls short of those standards. It offers the appearance of decisive action but lacks the structural integrity required to deliver meaningful outcomes. For these reasons, I cannot support the Bill as currently drafted. I urge that it be reconsidered and substantially revised to ensure any legislative changes are practical and effective and that they serve the long-term interests of our aviation system and the public it supports. There are two clear issues that have to be looked at here. One is the Vienna Convention and the other is our obligations under the United Nations. I humbly suggest my colleagues go back and look at the obligations under both of those. I thank Members for their time and regret not being able to support this. There is talk of genocide, etc., taking place in the world. If we cannot see what is up there or intercept what is travelling through our airspace, then we are merely providing wallpaper to cover a crack. That is not the way to do legislation. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-10/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:02+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-10