The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding the arrangements for the sitting of the House on Tuesday, 27 September 2022, to be taken on conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; and No. 2, statements on new innovations for people with disabilities (digital assistive technology), to be taken at 1.15 p.m. and to conclude at 2.45 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the opening contribution of the Minister of State not to exceed ten minutes, those of group spokespersons not to exceed seven minutes a…

Ms Keeley is very welcome. I congratulate her on such a distinguished career. Senator Carrigy asked for the extension of two welcome announcements, namely, funding for community centres and the recreational funds scheme that have been a resounding success. I am sure there will be many more applications for the €70 million fund. It is oversubscribed and needs further funding. The Senator eloquently described the positive impact this money is having on communities across the country. We will certainly make his views …

I move: That, notwithstanding anything in the Standing Orders relative to Public Business, the Seanad on its rising on Thursday, 22nd September, 2022, shall adjourn until 12 noon on Tuesday, 27th September, 2022, and the following arrangements shall apply: ( a ) Commencement matters shall be taken at 12 noon;( b ) Standing Order 30 shall stand suspended;( c ) The Order of Business shall be proposed at 3.30 p.m.”

I thank the Minister of State for being cognisant of the request of Senators with regard to the reporting period of three years and, more particularly, the transparency that is required, especially when we are talking about aviation safety, in publishing the Bill. It is not prescriptive, but I wonder has the Minister of State any musings on it. The examination will be encountered every three years. At what point does the Minister of State expect to publish the Bill? Once the examination is conducted every three yea…

It is probably my fault completely, but what happened to amendment No. 3 h ? I might be wrong, but I think we went from amendment No. 3 g to amendment No. 3 i without looking at the two deleted lines requested in amendment No. 3 h .

I support Senator Craughwell on this particular issue regarding the relevant period not exceeding five years. More importantly, given the resignation of the CEO designate, I ask the Minister of State to put on the record the plan of the Department regarding that position, which will become vacant before the Bill has been passed. The position will become vacant at the end of October. What plans are in place to recruit a new CEO? Will the relevant periods cited by the Minister of State in the Bill stand? How does she…

I was sitting here with a smile on my face while listening to my colleague for the last few minutes because we finally have a Cork person on the board of the DAA. Not everybody in the country knows that the DAA also manages Cork Airport, which has been the left-out-of-the-room cousin for a very long time. I very much welcome the appointment of Ms Cogan to the board and thank the Minister of State for that. Regarding the Minister of State's response to the questions I asked earlier, when will the Public Appointments…

On a point of clarification, as I might have not have heard properly, the Minister of State said it is the board that is going to appoint the interim CEO. Is that correct?

The amendment has been ruled out of order so I shall speak to the section. To be honest, when I read the Bill I did not see the anomaly that the retired members have shared with us. I cannot understand for the life of me why we would take people's benefits that they have accrued over a lifetime of service. In addition, just because we are organising or re-organising to make this Bill more efficient it seems that we would interrupt those benefits and put people on a lesser scale. Why and what is the logic for doing …

In the absence of accepting the amendment which, I assume, the Minister of State, will not, what is the principle of ensuring that the new authority will be compliant not just with the ICAO regulations but also EASA regulations? What open and transparent method will the Minister of State or the IAA employ other than an annual review which we have been told we will get every three years? I do not wish to hark back to previous debates, but the report into Rescue 116 took a significant number of years. Unfortunately, …

In an attempt to help my colleague, because he referenced the recommendations of a report into an accident that happened in March 2017, the two recommendations that I think he is speaking about are Nos. 2021029 and 2021031. The accident happened in 2017 and here we are in September 2022. Both of those recommendations, which were incredibly serious and related specifically to the Department of Transport, are in the process of implementation. I do not think that puts us in the eighth position in the world at all. I c…

I disagree with the Minister of State’s statement regarding the recommendations of the AAIU having all been taken on board by the Department and the relevant agencies. The two recommendations that highlighted the serious impact of the lack of expertise in the Department of Transport, recommendations Nos. 2021029 and 2021031 have not been complied with by the Department of Transport. They highlighted that there was no expertise on the books in the employment at the disposal of the Minister, whoever that Minister hap…

This is my final point. The statement the Minister of State just made does not give me any confidence that any of the commitments given on transparency and reporting with regard to the other amendments we have just disposed with will give us any real reporting transparency when this Bill is passed. It is an absolute untruth to say that the two recommendations have been taken on board because they have not been complied with. I do not know what part of accepting a recommendation is true when the Minister of State ha…

Particularly with regard to amendment No. 10, could the Minister of State give me an explanation? The Opposition is trying to strengthen the reporting mechanism after investigation. The purpose of amendment No. 10 is to insert a new Schedule. It relates to oral hearings and the taking of evidence under oath, which has not happened before and would certainly give the IAA, particularly the investigative team, an enormous tool. It would strengthen their hand with regard to what we are trying to do, which is to ensure …

With respect, that does not answer my question. What is wrong with having oral hearings and taking the information under oath? With regard to the pyramid, we are actually trying to strengthen the system we already have. The Minister of State knows from the reports that have been issued based on the penalties handed down by the current IAA to any of those in respect of whom there has been an infringement concerning their licences or activities have been tantamount to nothing more than a slap on the wrist. The licenc…

What about evidence under oath at oral hearings?

May we have a copy of the Minister of State's statement, please?

My question does not really relate to any of the intricacies Senator Craughwell has brought up. As the Minister of State will be well aware, Senator Craughwell has been raising this issue and the concerns he has about the contract week in, week out. The one thing that bothers me is not his tenaciousness but the fact that the more he digs the more he uncovers. What really struck me, as a former Cabinet Minister, is the information that was uncovered and reported on in not only the Business Post but also The Irish Ti…

Notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, given that all the time for spokespersons has not been used up and we have 20 minutes, I propose that we allow Senator Cummins some time to speak.

I am.