Questions need to be asked over how Irish Coast Guard crews rosters are recorded, according to Clare Fianna Fáil TD Cathal Crowe.
Deputy Crowe was speaking as the Oireachtas Transport Committee, of which he is a member, examined how the search & rescue crew roster is recorded.
The committee heard testimony from Bristow Ireland Ltd, the current SAR contract holder, as well as Fórsa trade union representatives and Irish Coast Guard search & rescue crew members.
Bristow Ireland Ltd are already months behind schedule commissioned helicopter bases at Sligo and Waterford where the previous contract holder CHC Ireland, continues to operated search and rescue operations.
According to Deputy Crowe: “There are serious questions to be asked over how the current 24-hour roster system for the Irish Coast Guard’s search and rescue crews are managed and if it is asking too much of the crews.
“The current model means that once a crew comes on for a 24-hour shift, they are only logged as working a total of 16.5 hours in total as standard. This only changes if they are tasked during expected rest time.
“These crews are on-site and ready to deploy in a matter of minutes if called upon but whilst they are constantly ready to go, this is not recognised properly in how their hours are recorded.
“This is not a simple renumeration issue. It actually has far more serious implications for crew members as logging 16.5 hours, instead of 24 hours, could mean that crews are being rostered on more 24-hour shifts per year than they should otherwise be, if the ‘rest hours’ were counted as work hours.
“On-duty crews required to remain at work, whether resting or not, cannot be classified as a standby crew, yet they are having standby regulations applied to them to artificially lower their working hours.
“Furthermore, when crews are required to stay at company accommodation they are at the disposal of the company and coast guard for the duration of their 24-hour shift. Under European and Irish legislation, and European Court of Justice rulings, this is required to be counted as full working time.
“Crews are supposed to have a maximum duty time of 2,000 hours per year but because of the way the hours are being logged, this can be significantly surpassed by crews.
“I have had extensive consultations with SAR crews nationwide and they, and their unions, believe that this may be in breach of Irish and European law. I think this should be thoroughly investigated to ensure that all laws are being adhered to and that our SAR crews are given the respect and occupational care that they deserve.
“There are legitimate questions over if this sort of contract, which exists in commercial aviation, is an unsuitable fit to the unpredictable and dangerous form of work carried out by our SAR crews.
“When I hear crew members and their unions speaking of fatigue and low morale, it worries me. It worries me on a human level but also because those helicopters take off at speed, oftentimes at night and in poor weather conditions to attend risky operations, and we want the crews aboard to be fully rested, alert and able to carry out their duties as safely as possible.
I’m calling on the Irish Aviation Authority to release a record of all correspondence they have had on this matter. It’s unfathomable how a change in work practice has happened that was at one time deemed to be unsafe.
“We must ensure that an unsafe practice does not become the allowable practice.”