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The Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Shane Ross T.D. has published the General Scheme of the Air Navigation and Transport Bill 2019, which was approved by Government this week. The Bill includes reforms and enhancements to aviation regulation in Ireland which will help maintain Ireland’s position at the forefront of this hugely important global industry.  

Speaking today Minister Ross said 

Civil Aviation is a global industry that is in a constant state of evolution and technological advances. We need to make sure that our regulatory regime is strong and responsive to the many challenges in relation to safety, security, consumer protection and connectivity.  It is widely accepted that the Government’s aviation regulation reform initiative, which is set out in the National Aviation Plan, is an important part of securing Ireland’s prominent place on the global stage. The Bill will establish a new, modern regulator which will act as a “one stop shop” for safety, security, economic and consumer regulation requirements, providing  cleaner and more efficient lines of communication and customer service for both the travelling public, industry, and workers within the aviation sector.

The Minister concluded

Given the Government’s better regulation agenda, this is a priority Bill for the Government, and I intend to move it along swiftly.

The Government has also agreed that necessary administrative transition arrangements are crucial to paving the way to the effective establishment of the new regulator. The Government has therefore approved the appointment of a Chief Regulator designate who will be responsible for leading the transition to the new arrangements. Arrangements to facilitate this appointment will be put in place as soon as possible.

Note to Editor:

The Heads of the Bill can be accessed at the following link.