Dublin Airport and leaving cert date
Senator Conway condemned the airport chaos and called for flights to be moved to other airports. He then shifted to seeking clarity on the leaving certificate start date, which the Chair said was not suitable for a Commencement matter.
The situation at Dublin Airport last Sunday was totally unacceptable. Everyone was shocked and horrified that 1,000 people missed their flights from the airport last Sunday. I echo the calls for an immediate recalibration of flights to have them moved from Dublin Airport to Cork Airport and, in particular, Shannon Airport, which has a state-of-the-art security system far ahead of that in place in Dublin Airport and can cope with volume. They can also be moved to Irish West Airport at Knock, where appropriate. We need that immediately. The last thing this country needs is to have this happen again. It is doing serious damage from a product perspective and from the perspective of Ireland being welcoming. People talk. More than 1,000 people have been discommoded and whether they get their money back is not the point. Some of them could not get hotel rooms in Dublin because of the shortage of hotel rooms. This issue needs to be sorted. Dublin Airport Authority need not expect the Minister to go out and solve the queues for it. It is the State agency that has delegated responsibility to resolve this and it needs to do so urgently.
I agree with Senator O’Sullivan's analysis regarding the leaving certificate. One issue with the leaving certificate needs to be addressed urgently, namely, the lack of access to examination papers for people with print disabilities and vision impairments. I welcome Eithne Walsh from Féach, the organisation that represents parents of visually impaired children and young people who are going through school. It is not acceptable that the papers for the leaving certificate are not available in a digital form in order that people can use modern technology to access them. We are an outlier in Europe on this matter.
We need a date for when the leaving certificate results will be issued. At a minimum, we need a date on which a date will be announced.
It is totally unfair.
Comment on this
The Senator is looking for a date to announce the date for the leaving certificate.
Comment on this
I am told it will be the day the leaving certificate starts. It is unfair on the young people, their parents and the third level institutions that are preparing for next year. Let us get the date or at least tell us when we will be told.
Comment on this
I do not think I would recommend that as a Commencement matter.