asked the Minister for Transport if it is proposed to send an Irish delegation to the IATA conference at Montreal; and, if so, the composition of the delegation.

Meetings of the International Transport Association — an inter-airline organisation — are attended by representatives of airlines. I understand that Aer Lingus, as a member of the association, were represented at the annual general meeting of IATA in Montreal which was held in October.

I should like to know why representatives from the Department were not present at the meeting.

Government delegations do not attend those meetings.

Is it confined to representatives of the national airlines?

The meeting in Montreal was purely administrative and did not have any tariff-making function.

It was not a fare-fixing meeting?

No.

Deputy Deasy's question asks why Department officials were not represented at that meeting. He did not refer to Government representation. Can the Minister say why Department officials were not represented?

It is not normal for Departments of State to be represented at any of those meetings. It is an inter-airline association and Aer Lingus were represented by the chief executive officer and chief operations manager.

14.