Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 July 2014
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Pilot Training Courses
228. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 205 of 25 June 2014, if he will answer the question raised which was the reason the State and the IAA did not reduce or eliminate the fees for the pilot training college in the same manner as was done for the English language colleges. [28805/14]
View answerI refer the Deputy to the answer I provided to parliamentary questions, numbers 604 and 617 which I answered earlier this week.
It was upon an initiative of the private English language colleges involved in the recent task force that an offer was made for students to complete their education with the colleges at a discounted fee. This came at no cost to the Exchequer. The State is not in a position to compel such a measure or to provide subvention. As I indicated before, the scale of the fees involved in language training is significantly less than that for flight training.
For its part, I am satisfied that the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) made every effort to assist the students of the pilot training college to complete their training at a reasonable cost through its engagement with the relevant training providers in Florida and here in Ireland.
The responsibility of the IAA for flight training organisations extends to the oversight of the safety, quality and standard of the training being delivered, and the conduct of examinations and flight tests to the appropriate EU standard. However, the failure of the Pilot Training College (PTC) in Waterford to meet its contractual obligations to students is a matter of company law and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement is the appropriate body to investigate any alleged breaches of company law.
