578. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Transport if the designated authority is required to keep records of UAV incidents. [58422/26]

The legislative framework for the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation to which Ireland and all other EU Member States must adhere to is established by Regulation (EU) 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation.

S.I. No. 195/2020, European Union (Reporting, Analysis and Follow-up of Occurrences in Civil Aviation) Regulations 2020, designated the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) as the competent authority in the State for the purposes of Regulation (EU) No. 376/2014.

Regulation 376/2014 sets out the rules on how relevant safety information relating to civil aviation is reported, collected, stored, protected, exchanged, disseminated, analysed and acted upon. The Regulation requires Member States to establish both a mandatory occurrence reporting system (for certain categories of occurrences which may represent a significant risk to aviation safety) and a voluntary reporting system to facilitate the collection of details of occurrences and safety-related information not subject to mandatory reporting.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1018 sets out the list of occurrences to be reported pursuant to Regulation (EU) 376/2014. UAS operations that present a significant risk to civil aviation require safety-related occurrences to be mandatorily reported, to ensure identification and mitigation of risks. Occurrences or other safety-related information involving UAS resulting in a fatal or serious injury to a person or aircraft other than unmanned aircraft must also be reported.

The reporting of civil aviation safety related occurrences, including those involving UAS, is done through a central European digital platform, the European Coordination Centre for Accident and Incident Reporting Systems (ECCAIRS) which is managed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. ECCAIRS supports aviation authorities in collecting, sharing and analysing safety information with as an ultimate goal to improve aviation safety. Reports submitted to ECCAIRS can be followed up as appropriate by the relevant authority.