Tag: Irish Aviation Authority

The Irish Aviation Authority is meant to keep air travel safe and protect customers rights, in line with best standards. So you’d expect the top job to be awarded to someone who has worked in an environment of very high standards. Would you believe they gave the job to an ex RYANAIR BOSS? He headed up the Ryanair operation in Malta, before getting his new job as IAA supremo. Talk about the fox being put in charge of the hen-house….! Maybe they’ll put Denis O Brien in charge of Irish Water next?

 

I raised concerns about the aviation industry in the Dáil today, in the context of an amendment to proposed policy changes concerning the industry. FOR SHEER BRASS NECK, AVIATION BOSSES TAKE THE CAKE! Both Aer Lingus and Ryanair workers have been treated disgracefully by management who have taken the opportunity the Covid crisis presented, to sack union activists, slash working conditions and generally put the boot into staff. And all the while, demanding increased state aid to the industry and challenging public health measures. They rail against policies that acknowledge the to tackle #ClimateChange, and in the midst of it all, the Irish Govt make a former Ryanair boss, CEO of the Irish Aviation Authority. Former poacher turned game-keeper? I don’t think so.

I was in a special Dáil committee during the week on the aviation industry. Representatives of both Ryanair and Aer Lingus appeared before the committee. They want state aid, and produced lots of figures to back up their claim. However, they left out the figures for profits they made over recent years, that run into €Billions. And disgustingly, Ryanair are taking 11 pilots to court for ORGANISING A UNION BALLOT, going after them personally for €13.5 million!! I believe in supporting airline workers, not the shareholders and CEOs of the companies that employ them.

 

PRESS RELEASE – August 24, 2018

The review of Search and Rescue service, commissioned by Transport Minister Shane Ross in the wake of the R116 helicopter crash in April 2017, yet to be published, appears to indicate “serious confusion and conflict of interest” at the heart of the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) operations.

The Review did not directly examine the circumstances of the crash that led to the loss of four rescuers off the County Mayo coast, but according to Brid Smith TD, (People Before Profit, Dublin South Central)  “the outcome of the review could possibly guide any investigation into the crash as to what may have gone wrong”.

The IAA is mandated as a commercial entity and has a corporate structure and this appears to conflict with its remit for safety regulatory oversight functions.Read more »