andMr. L'Estrange asked the Minister for Transport and Power who is responsible for affording facilities to pressmen at Dublin Airport during the absence of the airport press officer.
7.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Dublin Airport Press Facilities.
6.
andMr. L'Estrange asked the Minister for Transport and Power if his attention has been drawn to a report concerning an incident at Dublin Airport on Saturday, 8th February involving newspaper photographers and airport security officers; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 7 together.
For reasons of safety and security at the airport, access to the apron area is allowed only with permission and under supervision. In this case the newspaper photographers were found on the apron area without permission and were required to leave.
Normal facilities for pressmen are available at the Press Office at the Airport. Where special facilities, such as access to apron, are required and the airport press officer is not available, the procedure is to apply to the security officer in charge.
Is the Minister aware that on this occasion the press officer was not there and the photographers tried to find if they could get permission from someone else to get out on to the apron? They got permission from the Customs men. The Customs men were the only people they could see from whom to obtain permission. They got permission and, when they went out on the apron, the security man came along and asked them to leave. They explained that they had gone to the Customs people who were the only people they could ask at the time and they were told that, if they did not leave, they would be forcibly removed.
We have to be very strict about security arrangements. We have to take every precaution. I understand that the Customs officer, in fact, told the pressman who asked him only that he could move into the Customs area. This is the first complaint, I think, I have ever had since 1959. The arrangements generally are understood but, in this instance, an unfortunate misunderstanding arose. It is usual to have people who come to meet aeroplanes under proper supervision naturally because meeting planes makes for more publicity for the airport, for Aer Lingus and for tourism. We have, however, to keep the movement of pressmen maintained in an organised way. We have nothing against them at all. It was purely a misunderstanding.
Does the Minister not think that, having regard to the fact that these men had regularly attended there before and were quite well known to the security officers, the action of the security officers in telling them to leave or they would be forcibly removed was a bit highhanded?
The security officers have to take the maximum precautions. The Deputy is making a mountain out of a molehill because this procedure operates so successfully.
It did not operate successfully this time anyway.