Request for Comment

The IAA wish to thank all individuals and organisations who submitted comments on occurrence reporting in Ireland.

The comments are being collated and will be summarised in a General Advisory memorandum (GAM) to be published in April 2010. The GAM will also include the action IAA proposes to take on each of the issues identified from the comments received.

The IAA request your comments on the effectiveness of Occurrence Reporting in Ireland.

Occurrence reporting forms an integral part of safety assurance in any country's state safety programme and of safety management systems (SMS) in aviation organisations in Ireland.

Regulatory requirements require individuals and organisations to report mandatory occurrences to the IAA. The complete list of regulatory requirements is outlined on the IAA website and in the General Advisory Memoranda. 

Voluntary reporting also forms an important part in the safety assurance system and the same reporting channels exist for voluntary reporting as for mandatory reporting.

The current system for occurrence reporting has been in place for some years and the IAA wish to ensure that the system is operating effectively.

We request the comments of all the stakeholders on where they believe the existing system can be improved. We are particularly interested in your comments in the areas of:

1. Methods to report occurrences to the IAA
   
2. IAA dissemination of occurrence trends
   
3. Confidence in the confidentiality of the system
   
4. Requirement for a Confidential reporting system independent of IAA (similar to UK CHIRP).

All comments will be collated by the Chief Aviation Safety Analyst and de-identified, if requested, prior to any dissemination of data within the IAA and with the stakeholders.

Please send your comments to the IAA by the 12th February 2010 to the following:

Declan Fitzpatrick
Chief Aviation Safety Analyst
Irish Aviation Authority
Hawkin's Street
Dublin 2

Declan.fitzpatrick@iaa.ie
Tel: 01 6031471