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RTÉ News
20 hours ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Air traffic control staff at Casement Aerodrome set to be offered pay rise
Air traffic control personnel at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel are set to be offered a pay boost in an effort to tackle serious staff shortages and retention issues. Operating hours at the airport in southwest Co Dublin have been reduced significantly due to a lack of air traffic controllers. Take-off and landing operations do not take place between the hours of 8pm and 8am daily nor at the weekends. Rescue, medical and surveillance services have been impacted by the changes. Air traffic controllers at Baldonnel are needed for the management and control of military and other emergency aircraft from Casement is used by Defence Forces, an Garda Síochána, foreign military aircraft in transit and to host state and VIP flights. Air ambulance services, which transport organs and critical patients, and maritime surveillance have been restricted due to the reduced hours. A Garda spokesperson said the limited hours at Baldonnel has 'no current impact on the operation of Garda helicopters'. "Based on operational requirements the Garda Air Support Unit can deploy from a number of facilities" they said. It is understood that the Garda Air Support Unit (GASU) has been using Weston Airport as an alternative. Tánaiste to seek Cabinet approval The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Simon Harris, will seek approval from Cabinet today for a plan designed to retain highly skilled specialists in the Air Corps. Under the proposals, which had been called for by military management, a 'Service Commitment Scheme' that is currently availed of by air corps pilots will be extended to air traffic control personnel which could increase pay by thousands of euro. It's as fears grow that more air traffic controllers could leave their jobs soon. The proposal could be introduced quickly in an attempt to help it return to a 24/7 hour service. The Tánaiste has also asked military management and the Department of Defence to pursue a range of other measures aimed at boosting recruitment, as part of a wider regeneration plan at Baldonnel. According to a working group, established in 2021 to identify options to ensure long-term sustainability of air traffic control services at Baldonnel, 32 personnel are needed in the air traffic control unit for the service to work efficiently. This is the third time the Baldonnel has been impacted by staff shortages since 2010. In 2016, hours of operation were reduced to 8am to 6pm from Monday to Friday.
The Journal
a day ago
- Business
- The Journal
Military air traffic controllers to be offered emergency bonus pay to keep them in Irish Air Corps
THE TÁNAISTE IS to bring to cabinet an emergency measure to solve the military air traffic control service crisis by offering a payment scheme to the controllers to keep them in service, The Journal has learned. As reported by this news site the Irish Air Corps has shifted to a part-time twelve hour and five-day-week due to a shortfall of qualified air traffic controllers at its Baldonnel, Co Dublin base. This is because a number of experienced operators are leaving for higher paid jobs in the private sector. The Government intervention has come just two weeks since the Taoiseach Micheál Martin , who took over as Defence minister in December 2022 from Simon Coveney, said it was a matter for the military leadership to solve. The Journal had also obtained an internal report that proved that the Government and Department of Defence had been warned about the impending crisis in 2021 but that no action was taken on a recommendation for a payment scheme to keep the controllers. It has now emerged that later today, Harris, who is Minister for Defence will seek Cabinet approval for a plan designed to retain and incentivise highly skilled specialists in the Air Corps. Under the proposals, a Service Commitment Scheme, that is currently availed of by Air Corps pilots, will be extended to Air Traffic Control personnel. Advertisement The scheme for the pilot officers kicks in if they agree to stay in service for a specific period of time – there were incremental increases in salary and a bonus payment which reached several thousand euro if they signed on for up to eight years. It was introduced at a time when the Air Corps was struggling to keep the pilots from going to better paid private sector jobs. The air traffic controllers scheme will likely follow an identical increase the longer they agree to stay in the Defence Forces. The Journal understands that the payments to the pilots would have worked out as €25,000 per year. It is not the only measure and the Tánaiste has also ordered military management and the Department of Defence to find a number of other recruitment boosting measures along with a regeneration of staffing in Baldonnel. It is understood that there were detailed negotiations between the Department of Defence and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform in recent days. In those discussions it is believed the Tánaiste's team and the Department of Defence have raised the major issue of a shortage of qualified air traffic controllers across the world. This will likely form part of the argument that the Tánaiste will bring to Cabinet and explain the critical importance of a 24 hour service at Baldonnel. It's understood that the scheme being proposed by the Tánaiste, once greenlighted by Cabinet, will be brought in with immediate effect. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
