The Minister is welcome. I congratulate him on the work he is doing in respect of further education. For 25 years of my life while working in further education, I wanted a Minister like him who would drive matters forward. Fair play to him; he is doing a great job so far. In the context of amendment No. 76, the Bill reads "such other body or person as it considers appropriate". We tabled the amendment to include local authorities and councillors as well as those other bodies and persons considered appropriate. I at…

I wish to seek a point of clarification. Forgive me because my hearing is not the best. The Minister said he sees capacity to deal with the county councillor issue at the regulation stage when regulations are being put in place. Is the Minister telling me that all is not lost in that regard? The answer to that question will inform a lot of what I do from here on out.

As a member of the Royal British Legion and former member of the Royal Irish Rangers and a colleague of the many who served in Her Majesty's forces who now live in the Republic of Ireland, I would like to express my sympathies on their behalf. Her Majesty when she visited Ireland won the hearts of the nation of Ireland in a few short words and she is indeed a sad loss. I ask also that the Government might consider allowing employees to take some time when the funeral of Her Majesty takes place. It may be something …

I thank Senator O’Reilly for tabling this motion. I am devastated by what I just heard about Dublin Zoo. The minute the Minister of State leaves here, she must contact people to get them out to the zoo to see exactly what is going on. If even only a tiny portion of what she has been told is true, it is outrageous. When I think about how I and other people bring their grandchildren to the zoo and presume these animals are looked after better than any animals in the world, I am totally devastated. My main point is ab…

I do many things but to repeat the same advice would be futile. The advice is very clear. One of the problems we have in dealing with this issue is that nobody in this room is an expert. The only expertise that has been involved in the drafting of this Bill is from the very people the Bill is designed to regulate. Four people lost their lives because of poor regulation, lack of oversight and reckless behaviour. That is the only way it can be described. In light of the legal advice we have received, neither House, a…

I have a few points to make. The Attorney General is one distinguished lawyer. The advice that was read into the record was prepared by another distinguished lawyer. I do not believe any lawyer is more qualified than another, lest a court adjudges the positions of both parties and makes a decision. The Attorney General's advice holds no more water for me than the advice that was read into the record by my colleague, the Leader of the House. The Leader of the House wrote to the European Commission about the Bill. Wh…

We must proceed or suspend again, and I do not particularly want to do that.

Before I make my comments, the Minister of State has referred to the people who were consulted on Bills relating to all sorts of areas that have passed through the Houses of the Oireachtas. That is good, and I do not have a problem with that. However, I have a problem if we go to an agency and ask it to write the legislation to regulate itself. She spoke about search and rescue, SAR, particularly and the expertise that is available to the Department on SAR. I assume we are talking about the same company. Aerossuran…

We are where we are a year later, and we are getting nowhere.

We are on Committee Stage and I am entitled to make my points.

I am entitled to make the points I want to make today.

If we are going to proceed with the Bill today, which I believe is ill-advised, I am going to make my points. Article 2.6 of the EASA basic regulation allows the Minister to opt in to certain provisions, activities and organisations. This is relevant, but with regard to sections 67 and 76, we have to give consideration to whether they reflect state-of-the-art and best practices in the field of aviation. This is what I mean when I speak about a select committee of the Seanad having experts available to it.

I am not an expert in the area, but I am being asked to put my name to this Bill by virtue of the fact that I have been involved in discussion on it. This will be the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton's, Bill when it goes onto the Statute Book properly and the bottom line is that none of us is expert enough to make judgments on some of the provisions in the Bill. Section 67 makes reference to the Minister. It refers to conducting a regulatory review along with the universal safety oversight audit programme of the …

I know. I am just trying to bring it all together. These are the only areas that cause me difficulty. If we can iron those out, we can move on with the Bill. One of the biggest issues with the Bill is a lack of accountability for the chief executive. Legislation such as this is too important to allow for incompetence. The introduction of the pilot supports programme is a welcome development. Members of the Opposition have been happy to support this part of the Bill. However, a lot more must be considered. Exclusive…

It is rather odd than in the context of SAR, an expert was brought in, if one can call a non-pilot, one-man operation an expert, to advise on this Bill. I am on record in this House, at committee and in correspondence with the Department of Transport as to the reservations I have over a one-man band providing any advice to the Department. The letter I got in response from the Department sought to assure me this one-man band was providing advice to organisations all over the place. It shocks me that this operation h…

When those two men or women get into the front of the aircraft and close the cockpit door, none of us will ever know what goes on in there until the aeroplane lands. Often, when one is flying somewhere, one sees a member of the cabin crew replacing a pilot while the latter pops out to the toilet or whatever, but we do not otherwise know what goes on. Like my colleagues, I want to know when I get on an aircraft that if the pilot had a problem that day, he or she did not have to bring that problem into the cockpit. E…

On a point of information-----

On a point of information, it is not the Chair who decides when the question is put. It is the Members who decide.

I do not dispute that.

I accept the Minister of State's bona fides on this-----