An deireadh seachtaine seo caite, chonaic muid radhairc dhochreidte ag Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath nuair a bhí paisinéirí ag fanacht taobh amuigh den fhoirgneamh aerfoirt ar feadh uaireanta fada. Chaill níos mó ná 1,400 duine a n-eitiltí dá bharr. Ní raibh 1,400 ábalta a n-eitiltí a fháil. Ba náire náisiúnta é gur tharla a leithéid ag an deireadh seachtaine, ag déanamh dochair dár gclú agus ag cur isteach ar phleananna daoine a d'íoc as a gcuid eitiltí. Mar Aire Iompair, tá an Teachta Ryan freagrach as sin agus níor tugadh cuntas ar an mhéid a tharla go fóill. Lig Údarás Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath 1,000 jab chun bealaigh le bliain go leith. Cén teachtaireacht a chuireann sé amach don phobal mór nach bhfuil an Rialtas ábalta a chinntiú go bhfuil ár n-aerfoirt ábalta feidhmiú i gceart?

Last weekend we witnessed crazy scenes at Dublin Airport, as passengers were forced to wait for hours on end outside the terminal. More than 1,400 people missed flights because of the chaos. It was a national embarrassment that should never have happened. The Minister for Transport is responsible for transport and aviation but he has not been held to account for his role in this.

When the Dublin Airport Authority laid off 1,000 workers, Jerry Brennan of SIPTU told it that it will need to hire people because its queues will extend through the carparks. That is exactly what happened. The Government sanctioned this level of redundancy. Why did it do that? Everyone knew aviation would rebound once the pandemic subsided, with pent-up demand for international travel such as it is, except the Minister and the DAA.

While the DAA is responsible for operations at the airport, the Minister has responsibility for transport strategy. We constantly hear about the strategic importance of Dublin Airport given we live on a small island. It is a small island where connectivity to Europe and the rest of the world is so vital. It is a small island economy in which tourism is so important, supporting jobs, businesses and employment. It is crucial. In 2019 alone, almost 33 million passengers travelled through the airport. Many were tourists, business passengers and people travelling on a well-earned holiday. What does it say to these people that the Government cannot get an international airport to function properly on its watch? What does it say to our tourism sector that relies on Dublin Airport to function properly and a provide a service that tourists can depend on?

I am not convinced by what the DAA had to say yesterday. The wait times it set out are still too long. The idea that passengers would be triaged into some sort of holding areas is embarrassing. The fact that the airport plans to function with security staff levels at 70% of pre-pandemic levels is not acceptable. The Minister has been unable to give an assurance that we will not see scenes like we did last weekend. Frankly, he has been asleep at the wheel right throughout this process only to appear last weekend.

What does the Minister intend to do as Minister responsible for transport and aviation strategy if we witness scenes like we did last weekend happen? Can he say that heads will roll unless things are put right at the airport, and passengers have speedy access through the airport and do not suffer the indignity and chaos that we saw last weekend?

I have been meeting the aviation industry throughout, particularly in the Covid period. I met the board of the Dublin Airport Authority several months ago as well as the airlines and I meet all three airports regularly. It has been a difficult time. It was very difficult managing through Covid but we have absolutely been focused on what is in the interest of the Irish public and the travelling public to make sure they are served. They were not served last weekend. Everyone accepts that. It was totally unacceptable. Mistakes were made in rostering and in making sure there were enough people. It is inexcusable. It seriously let down the airport, the workers and the country. That is agreed. We have to rectify it. Myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, have been meeting the airport authorities every day to make sure they do put plans in place to make sure it does not happen again. They cannot guarantee that but we will make sure that everything is done to avoid it.

At a meeting this morning, they said that some 225 new staff are in place. It will take another three weeks with about an additional 30 staff a week as they come out of training. They committed this morning to hire and train a further 100 staff to make sure they have room for any eventuality so that what happened does not happen again. We, in government, will do whatever we can to support them to avoid that.

They made a mistake - I think it was in May 2020 - when the original decision was made to apply the redundancy scheme. Too many workers were let go. That is clear now but the critical thing the Irish public wants to know is that the additional staff will be put in place so that they can get through the airport without missing a flight and without being put through a triage system that requires them to stand outside the concourse. That is only there in case of emergencies. It will be introduced this weekend but only on a very small-scale basis. In the event that anyone is restricted from entering, they should not be standing outside in wet weather. That is not how airports can or should run.

Dublin Airport has a long history and is an excellent airport. The staff and management there have real skills in running airports and they need to get back to that. They can and will do that and the Irish public will not have to queue for two-and-a-half hours. However, it is important that we put out the message that the public arrives within the timelines suggested. This morning it was slightly difficult because, again, a lot of people probably arrived too early. Following advice about when to arrive is the first thing we need to do. It will be managed and people will get through. I am confident about this weekend and the summer period. If it does not happen, we will have to take further measures. Nothing will be avoided to ensure Irish passengers do not have that uncertainty or huge stress. When you are meant to go on your holiday, starting with huge uncertainty over whether or not you will make it is the last thing we can tolerate or accept.

We could spend the whole time scoring points or just talking down about people or kicking them in the process. The key thing is to make it work. That is what the workers and the management in Dublin Airport are committed to doing. It is not just those airports. It is happening in airports throughout the world. We see the neighbouring island's airports suffering the same but that does not excuse it. No one will make excuses. We will make sure it works and make sure the travelling public is not inconvenienced because that is what it expects.

From what the Minister said, one would swear this happened out of the blue over the past couple of days. The Minister talked about further measures. He talked about how the DAA has committed today to another 100 staff being employed. Back in March, we had a problem. The travelling public would have expected that the Minister, who is responsible for transport and aviation and part of the Government that signed off on a redundancy package for 1,000 staff which has left that airport at a point at which we cannot guarantee that passengers will not miss their flights this weekend, would have taken a hands-on approach at that point. The fact he is telling us today that the DAA is committing to employ in the future another 100 staff shows us that he has not been dealing with this issue effectively and that he has been asleep at the wheel. Assurances were given last week that we would not see the chaotic scenes that happened at Dublin Airport and yet they materialised. As the Minister for Transport, if we see those scenes again, will he hold those individuals at DAA accountable? Will they continue to be in their positions? Will the Minister explain to the Irish public why his Government signed off on a redundancy package that was completely and utterly unacceptable?

The Minister to respond.

It tried to cut too deep, and the Irish public and the tourism sector were left exposed as a result.

In March, we realised there was a problem and we engaged directly with the airport, which also recognised there was a problem. There was a particular problem coming into the Easter period. We engaged with the company, the European Commission and others to try to make sure that the security arrangements in the airport would allow us to get those passengers through. We got passengers through. It was not an ideal situation. No one wants to queue for an hour, let alone any longer, but people did not miss their flights. It was managed up to last Sunday. No one can excuse what happened last Sunday because that was intolerable. However, to describe the period from March to then as inactive is not true. Yes, it was slow and not as many people got through the training programme as quickly as had been expected. The airport was the first to admit that in the committee hearings yesterday, but there was no inactivity from anyone. No one was shirking the responsibility.

How many meetings did the Minister have with the DAA at that time?

I do not know how many dozen times I have met it over the past two or three years.

Since March?

The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, meets it on a daily basis with my adviser and I come in on a regular basis to check and make sure what we are doing. I engaged with the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and others to make sure that the whole of Government was involved. We were active. We were engaged.

We are way over time.

Everyone was let down at the weekend and we all accept the responsibility for that, myself included, but-----

We are over time.