The grant of operating licences to Irish air carriers is a function of my Department having regard to the requirements of EU Council Regulation No. 2407/92 on licensing of air carriers. This regulation came into effect from 1 January 1993 on the establishment of the EU internal market in air transport. One of the basic requirement for the grant and retention of an operating licence is that the air carrier or prospective air carrier must at all times be in possession of a valid Air Operators Certificate (AOC). This is a document which basically affirms that the carrier meets the technical, operational and safety requirements of the Irish Aviation Authority which are of the highest international standards. That authority is solely responsible for the granting of the AOC and I have no function in that matter. The Irish Aviation Authority has assured me, as I would expect, that it applies the same safety standard to all Irish operators, regardless of their size or their commercial strategies.
As regards airlines from other countries operating to and from Ireland, safety standards for the commercial operation of civil aircraft are set down in the various Annexes to the Chicago Convention of 1944, to which Ireland is a party. Under the Convention each state is responsible for ensuring that airlines licensed by them comply with these standards.
The EU Council of Ministers for Transport recently set up a High Level Group on Aviation Safety to examine the question of safety of air carriers from third countries. This High Level Group is expected to present a report to the June Council of Ministers for Transport. On a broader level similar work is being undertaken by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC).
