Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 November 2017
40. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the actions he will take in view of the deficiencies within the Irish Aviation Authority highlighted by the Helios section 32 report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49282/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra51. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the fact that no section 32 reports on the performance by the IAA of its functions relating to the application and enforcement of technical and safety standards for aircraft and air navigation were commissioned by his Department in the years 2007, 2010 and 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49337/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra75. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will meet with representatives of an association (details supplied) to discuss the outcome of the examination under section 32 of the Irish Aviation Act 1993 of the Irish Aviation Authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49281/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 40, 51 and 75 together.
As I have advised the House previously, civil aviation is a highly regulated global industry, and there are extensive EU and international rules and regulations which all members states are obliged to comply with.
In Ireland, the Irish Aviation Authority is the designated, statutory body for aviation regulation and it is subject to an extensive performance audit regime. This includes international oversight under ICAO's Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme and under the European Aviation Safety Agency's standardisation audits.
In addition, Section 32 of the Irish Aviation Authority Act 1993 provides for an examination and report to the Minister for Transport on the performance of the IAA with regard to its safety regulation functions and air navigation service. The findings of the most recent Section 32 examination by the expert consultancy firm Helios, as set out in its Final Report of 2015, are in line with the positive views of both ICAO and EASA. To reiterate, the IAA is subject to three separate, detailed performance audit review processes - one under domestic law by the Minister, one under European law by EASA, and one under international agreement by the UN's ICAO.
Regarding the Helios Report raised by the Deputy, the Report notes that: the IAA's "level of compliance with European and ICAO safety regulations and standards and recommended practices is very high, evidenced by EASA standardisation audits and other audits over a sustained period where the IAA has consistently performed well. The IAA is well resourced with a level of industry experience and technical expertise that is amongst the best in Europe".
As with any good and robust audit process, the Helios Section 32 Report made recommendations for further improvement. The whole purpose of the audit regimes described above is to verify current perfomance against current requirements and also to push organisations to engage in continuous improvement. The IAA has established an implementation plan to address these areas for further improvement and is reporting periodically to my Department on progress.
In the period up to 2007, three examinations were carried out under Section 32. In 2009, the then Minister for Transport, Mr Noel Dempsey set out in a Dáil reply of 3 November 2009 the reasons for his decision not to carry out an examination under the Section 32 provision at that juncture. This was due to a number of factors, including plans at the time to restructure the IAA.
Within my remit, I will consider any request from the association referred to by the Deputy to meet and discuss matters of concern to it, including relating to the outcome of the Section 32 examination.
