Government criticised over air law delays

THE Department of Transport was heavily criticised by both the European Commission and the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) last year over its delays in implementing new European legislation for consumers.

Documents obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal that the Government was lukewarm about implementing a new EU directive which provides improved compensation levels for air travellers in the event of delays, cancellations and overbooking by airlines.

They show that the CAR complained to the Department of Transport that it was under-resourced and placed at a disadvantage by delays in designating it as the official body to oversee the new legislation.

Transport Minister Martin Cullen only appointed the CAR to investigate cases where passengers were dissatisfied with the response of airlines to their claims for compensation after the Government was issued with a formal warning by the European Commission.

Mr Cullen announced that the CAR would act as the enforcement body for the legislation in Ireland last June - over four months after the new EU directive had come into force.

Since February 17 last year, airlines must now offer free meals, drinks and phone calls for short-haul flights delayed by more than two hours or cancelled.

In some cases, it must also offer overnight accommodation and refunds.

Passengers “bumped off” flights due to overbooking are entitled to e250-600 depending on the length of the journey.

However, it is understood that former Aviation Commissioner Bill Prasifka was not informed of CAR’s new role until after the legislation had come into effect.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that a senior official in the Department of Transport said that it would be “inappropriate” to inform the CAR at a meeting on February 3 last year that it would take on the role of enforcing the legislation in Ireland.

Another senior civil servant also criticised the EU directive for obliging member states to report back to the EU on how complaints were handled.

It has also emerged that the department took over four months to respond a request from a senior CAR executive, who sought urgent clarification about the EU legislation.

CAR’s head of legal affairs, Patricia O’Connor, complained to the Department of Transport on June 23, 2005 that she had received no reply to a request in early March.

Ms O’Connor was then obliged to write to the assistant secretary of the department, John Murphy on July 15, 2005 due to the lack of response to her earlier correspondence.

Documents also show that a senior official in Brussels complained repeatedly to Irish ambassador to the EU Anne Anderson about the lack of response by the Government.

Commission vice-president Jacques Barrot was also forced to write to Foreign Minister Brian Cowen last March to voice concern over the repeated failure to a request for the name of the designated body.