I am sorry, but it is not a question of whether I like the response or not. We are passing legislation through this House-----

The air accident investigation report criticises the fact that the Department depends on contractors to provide advice and states clearly that the Department needs to have an in-house expert. I ask again if there is such an in-house expert in aviation.

No, she said that she has access to people with expertise who are contractors. I am asking if there is an employee of the State working in the Department of Transport who is an aviation expert.

Okay.

That is grand.

Returning to the stakeholder forum the Minister of State spoke of, if we were to call a meeting of that group we would probably need a hotel to accommodate the representatives from all the different agencies mentioned. The key thing is that pilots have concerns about lighting at airports when they are landing and taking off, as well as concerns about various other things. The Minister of State will also recall the destruction of a Concorde aircraft as it attempted to take off from an airport in Paris. A piece of me…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 40, after line 37, to insert the following: “Amendment of Act of 1993 - Licence Holders Charter 59. The Act of 1993 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 14: “Licence Holders Charter 14B. (1) For the purpose of ensuring that the system of authorisation and licensing is operated in an integrated and transparent manner consistent with the protection of safety, the Irish Aviation Authority shall adopt and operate a Licence Holders Charter. (2) In this sectio…

A peer support group is vital, particularly in light of the crash in the Alps some years ago. Part of the rationale behind a peer support group is that people are dealing with others of similar qualifications to themselves and dealing with people who can treat them in a confidential manner, and they can deal with people who are one step removed from the management of the organisation. Let us consider a pilot who is suffering a particular mental health issue. How comfortable would any of us be if we had to pick up t…

The air accident investigation unit report into the fatal crash of Rescue 116 and the loss of four very brave search and rescue operators and the subsequent inquest have laid bare the failures of the contract, oversight and all of the agencies involved. It goes back to when the contract was put together. The absence of aviation expertise in both the Department of Transport and the Irish Coast Guard are serious failings that have yet to be addressed by both agencies. During the inquest, evidence was given into the p…

We need to have a debate on that.

With regard to the NCT, it is illegal to drive a car that does not have an up-to-date NCT. The Minister needs to make a statement that will protect citizens.

I know.

Oh my God.

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. I think this is the first time I addressed him since he was elevated to ministerial office. I am delighted he is here, and I understand the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is unwell with Covid-19 and I wish him well, but it is deeply regrettable the junior Minister at his Department is not here to take this issue. The Minister of State will be aware of the fact that four brave crew members of the contracted helicopter search and rescue service lost their liv…

I wonder how we are allowing a Department with no aviation expertise to have any hand, act or part in the next SAR tender services and how we are allowing the Department or the Irish Coast Guard to lead out on the next SAR. Within days of the PQQ to which the Minister of State adverted in his reply being issued, it had to be extended because of the change from three bases to four bases. We are about to move to the tender stage, yet the PQQ at the time did not take account of the new regulation set down by the Irish…

Hear, hear.

Well said.

Well said.

I join with Senator O'Sullivan, whose comments were well made and showed perfect timing. In an article by Sorcha Pollak in The Irish Times on 13 June 2022 entitled "Five Ukrainian soldiers with 'significant trauma-related injuries' airlifted to Dublin", a statement from a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson was included. That spokesperson said Ireland was "not politically or morally neutral in the face of Russia's appalling attack against Ukraine". The article continues: "Ireland has a long-standing policy o…

The Tánaiste is welcome to the House. I believe this is the first time I have addressed him in this House since he was elected, which was a long time ago. To go back to that dreadful St. Patrick's Day when he addressed us all from Washington or New York at the start of Covid, I was amazed at how quickly he responded to requests from Independents like me who were not party affiliated in any way. Over the period of Covid, I had to make contact with the Tánaiste on a few occasions. On the matter of class K PRSI, which…