Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 July 2013
761. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on occurrence reporting in civil aviation and its progress during the Irish EU Presidency; the implications of this for Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36183/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn December 2012 the Commission published a new proposal on occurrence reporting. The aim of the proposal is to contribute to the reduction of the number of aircraft accidents and related fatalities, using civil aviation occurrences for correcting safety deficiencies and prevent them from reoccurring. Extensive discussions on this dossier were held at the Aviation Working Group of the European Council, Chaired by the Irish Presidency. A separate group of experts was established to consider the technical annexes to the proposal.
At the June Transport Council a General Approach was reached on this proposal. However, further work was required in relation to the technical annexes and considering the importance of the annexes to the Regulation, a decision was taken to adopt these as Commission implementing acts, allowing further involvement of Member States experts. The Lithuanian Presidency will now enter into negotiations with the European Parliament on this proposal.
In terms of the implications of this proposal on the Irish aviation industry, this proposal is updating and enhancing an existing Directive on occurrence reporting, the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is the competent authority in the State for the purposes of implementing this Directive. The IAA have already established both a mandatory and a voluntary occurrence reporting system, the new proposal will extend the reporting requirements to the wider aviation community.
