Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 22 Feb 1994

Vol. 439 No. 2

Written Answers. - EC Officials Visit to Aer Lingus.

Noel Ahern

Ceist:

134 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications his views on the recent surprise visit by EC officials to Aer Lingus head office; if the visit was known to him in advance; if the complaint was or should have been processed through him; the reason for the speed with which this complaint was processed; if this was ever done with another airline; and the reason Ireland is being targeted for such attention.

Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications (Mr. Cowen)

The recent visit by EC officials to Aer Lingus was made on foot of a formal Commission Decision of 2 February, 1994 requiring Aer Lingus to submit to an investigation pursuant to Article 11 (3) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3975/87 of 14 December, 1987.

Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3975/87 lays down the procedure for the application of the rules on competition to undertakings in the air transport sector.

The regulation provides,inter alia, that the Commission, acting on receipt of a complaint or on its own initiative, shall initiate procedures to terminate any infringement of Articles 85.1 or 86 of the Treaty.

The Regulation empowers the Commission to undertake investigations into undertakings and associations of undertakings. The Commission may, at its discretion, request the competent authorities of the member states concerned to undertake the investigations. In the case referred to by the Deputy, the Commission did not request the Irish authorities to undertake an investigation.

As required by the Council Regulation, a Commission official advised my Department in advance of the visit that the Commission, acting on foot of complaints made to it by Ryanair and by British Midlands, had adopted a formal decision requiring Aer Lingus to submit to an investigation (i) for the purpose of establishing its pricing strategy on certain routes between Dublin and UK provincial points and its competitive strategy towards Ryanair in general and on those routes in particular; and (ii) for the purpose of establishing its pricing strategy on the Dublin-London route and its competitive strategy towards British Midlands in general and on the Dublin-London route in particular.

The Commission confirmed in writing to my Department on 3 February, 1994 that it intended to carry out an inspection on the premises of Aer Lingus under Regulation No. 3975/87 and that the Department was obliged by Community Law to avoid giving the company any advance warning of the proposed inspection.

The Commission acts, when necessary in applying competition policy rules throughout the Community. There are regular proceedings where alleged infringements happen and subsequent action, where appropriate, by the Commission is recorded in the Official Journal and, indeed, by the media. There are no grounds for believing that Ireland is being particularly targeted.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

135 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the call made by the National Youth Council at its recent annual conference that there should be a distinct and separate civil ceremony in all marriages; his response to the call; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Equality and Law Reform (Mr. Taylor)

My Department is engaged in a comprehensive review of the legislation governing the registration of births, marriages and deaths, with a view to drawing up a new code of legislation. The law on registration of marriages, which dates mainly from the last century, is particularly complex and contains a diversity of registration procedures for different types of marriages.

I note the call made by the National Youth Council for a distinct and separate ceremony in all marriages. This is not, of course, the first time that such an approach has been suggested and this issue will be examined in the context of the overall review.