I've actually spoken to a lawyer about this as I'm affected by the CAA stupidity. There is a precedent, the name of which I've forgotten, that referrs to 'high handed administrative changes'. Let's see..
I plan to take a class action to the CAA if they won't come up with a reasonable work around on this, based on the fact that there was no notification of this significant change. All I'm going to ask them is, subject to inspection of our ICAO licences/airline, to give all the affected pilots a period of amnesty in which to renew our IR's.
SBY for a heads up for a facebook group so we can collectively discuss this.
I will also be going to visit the morons in April to discuss this with them. I am trawling thru the ANO and JAR regs as we speak.
Airwaves, I might be wrong, but the IR renewal issue has nothing to do with the info the CAA gave you. All they are discussing is your ATPL issue, not your IR. They are 2 seperate issues. Except for the fact that you need an IR to have an ATPL??
FM.