Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 March 2026
282. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Transport if the Irish Aviation Authority or other safety regulators contacted his Department with warnings about controller fatigue, inadequate staffing margins, or system resilience issues, especially given the proposals to increase traffic volumes at Dublin Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17924/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra283. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Transport given the proposals to increase traffic volumes at Dublin Airport, if a company (details supplied) has given his Department written confirmation that they can safely manage the additional flights without having to rely on controllers agreeing to work on their days off, and that the company has a plan to ensure adequate staffing to handle increased traffic volumes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17925/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 282 and 283 together.
The safe operation of Irish airspace is a priority for AirNav Ireland. The Company also recognises the importance of ensuring the continued smooth operation of our airports and that any potential disruption to services and passengers is avoided.
AirNav Ireland is regulated by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) in respect of safety and the European Commission's performance and charging framework for the Single European Sky.
The performance and charging framework is designed to ensure the efficiency of European air navigation services across key performance areas such as safety, environment, capacity, and cost-efficiency. It includes EU-wide targets, performance plans and cost bases for charging by air navigation service providers. Ireland’s Performance Plan covering the period 2025-2029 (RP4), submitted to the European Commission by the IAA in August 2025 for review, addresses the provision by AirNav of en route air navigation services and terminal air traffic control services at Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports.
Under the RP4 Plan it is proposed that the number of air traffic controllers employed by AirNav would increase in increments to 364 by end 2029 to meet the expected increase in demand for AirNav's services. AirNav currently employs 324 air traffic controllers, up from 300 at end 2023 (including direct entry air traffic controllers in training and student air traffic controllers on On-the-Job Training).
AirNav is actively recruiting and training student air traffic controllers to ensure it has the capacity to meet increased demand. AirNav expects to train 76 student controllers in 2026.
While overtime remains integral to AirNav's 24-hour operations the reliance on overtime is expected to decrease as air traffic controller staffing numbers rise.
