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One of the primary functions of the Irish Aviation Authority is the safe conduct of all aircraft operations. Within that function is a responsibility to ensure the safety of persons on the ground, who have no influence or input into a decision by a person to get into an aircraft and fly. People on the ground can be affected by that decision in the event of an accident causing serious injury to them or their property.

This is a major consideration when issuing licences to private pilots seeking to fly for leisure purposes.  

All licences currently offered by the Irish Aviation Authority are issued in accordance with the guidelines set out in the International Civil Aviation Authority, Standards and Recommended Practices contained in International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex I - Personnel Licensing.  

The National Licence issued by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority is not issued on the same basis as it does not require the holder to meet the ICAO minima with regard to flying hours completed, medical requirements or radio telephony.

 The Irish Aviation Authority does offer a facility to Non-Irish licence holders to validate their licences for use within Irish airspace. A similar facility is not offered by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority.

On the basis of recent safety analysis The Irish Aviation Authority is conducting a review of the current requirements for the award of a Private Pilot Licence (Microlight) with a view to possibly reducing the minimum requirements. This has included consultation with the National Microlight Association of Ireland and other interested stakeholders and a "Request for Comment" document was posted on the Authority's website on Friday, 5 February 2010. The closing date for this phase of the review was Monday, 8 March 2010 and the Authority is currently studying the responses that were submitted with a view to publishing the outcome on Friday, 16 April 2010.

With regard to the Safety Recommendation issued by the Air Accident Investigation Unit following an accident involving a microlight aircraft, the Irish Aviation Authority as the statutory body charged with regulatory oversight of aircraft operations within the State is the only body required to respond to the Safety Recommendation. This has partly been addressed by the review of microlight policy as detailed in the preceding paragraph.

 It must be pointed out, however, that the accident involved a pilot electing to fly a microlight aircraft without holding any licence or having completed the necessary training. Additionally, the aircraft, which was not registered in the State, was flown by the pilot without obtaining the relevant certification of its fitness to fly either from the Irish Aviation Authority or the State of Registration.

ENDS