167. Deputy Ann Graves asked the Minister for Transport whether he stands over his repeated position (details supplied); whether he will honour the commitment confirmed by the Minister’s office on 13 July 2026 to meet with a person to discuss his airspace-safety concerns; whether he can confirm if a specific aviation safety and security audit was undertaken as part of the preparation or passage of the Dublin Airport passenger-cap legislation; and if so, whether that assessment will be published. [67040/26]

The Deputy refers to procedures for the reporting and investigation of ‘unidentified airborne objects encountered by commercial flight crews in Irish-managed offshore or oceanic airspace’.

The framework for the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation in the European Union is established by Regulation (EU) No 376/2014. The Regulation which is directly applicable in the State, obliges Member States to make provision for mandatory and voluntary reporting systems of safety occurrences, and to designate competent authorities for the analysis and follow-up of reports. This framework applies regardless of the nature of the occurrence reported. As such, where an unidentified aerial object, also known as an unidentified aerial phenomenon, anomalous aerial observation or unidentified flying object is reported as a safety-relevant occurrence, it is dealt with through the same framework as any other occurrence in civil aviation.

Under Regulation (EU) 376/2014 aviation personnel, including pilots, are responsible for reporting safety occurrences to their organisation and additionally may elect to report directly to the relevant competent authority. Organisations, in turn, are obliged to submit these reports to the competent authority in their Member State.

In Ireland, the competent authority for the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation is the Irish Aviation Authority. Occurrence reporting obligations under Regulation (EU) 376/2014 are implemented by organisations via their Safety Management Systems (SMS) with organisations submitting reports to the European Co-ordination Centre for Accident and Incident Reporting System (ECCAIRS).

ECCAIRS is a digital platform managed by the EU Aviation Safety Agency supporting Member States’ aviation authorities in collecting, sharing and analysing their safety information.

Reports submitted to ECCAIRS are then followed up as appropriate by the competent authority, which may seek further information if necessary.

Regarding the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Act 2026, the Dublin Airport passenger cap was not imposed for safety or security purposes. It was set as a planning condition attached to the construction of Terminal 2 in 2007 and extension works to Terminal 1 in 2008, primarily to address surface access issues in place at that time.

I would like to reiterate that aviation is a highly regulated sector, with EU aviation safety and security governed by a robust, centralised framework overseen by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and enforced through EU legislation. This framework applies, regardless of the number of passengers that use Dublin Airport.