Accompanied by the Secretary General of the Department, I met the chairman of Aer Rianta on 16 January 2002. We discussed the chairman's written response by letter of 11 January 2002 to my request for full particulars of the circumstances surrounding transit of the person referred to through Dublin Airport on his return from the US after Christmas on 29 December 2001.
The essential factors, as reported by the chairman and discussed between us, were that Mr. Dermot O'Leary, a member of the board of Aer Rianta, on foot of a request on 28 December from the family of the person referred to asked the duty manager at Dublin Airport if anything could be done on compassionate grounds to facilitate the person's smooth arrival as his wife was very upset at the prospect of the return to Dublin.
The duty manager undertook to facilitate the request in so far as he could and, on leaving his duty, said he would advise the incoming duty manager of the position. The duty manager then contacted the airport director, Mr. Dermot O'Leary, to advise that the family could be facilitated strictly on the basis that the person in question presented himself to immigration and customs in the normal way.
The person referred to arrived on 29 December and cleared immigration in the ordinary way. The duty sergeant then spoke to the customs officer on duty who consented to the family not walking through customs in the ordinary way. They collected their baggage from the conveyor belt in the ordinary way and then, accompanied by the duty sergeant, exited the baggage hall through the nearby staff entrance and not through the normal public entrance. They then walked directly across the public arrivals area and onto the public street to their car.
This facility, not available in the normal course of events, was afforded on compassionate grounds for the wife of the person referred to. It appears that nothing illegal was done in this procedure.
As the Deputy will be aware, I subsequently received on 16 January 2002 an unreserved apology from Dermot O'Leary in relation to his involvement in this matter and I accepted his apology. I subsequently briefed the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Finance.
The matter of the appropriate protocol to be adopted in future in relation to the transit of high profile people through Dublin Airport is under active consideration by Aer Rianta.