The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, was not consulted before the Department of Defence agreed to accept a donation towards the cost of her controversial flight to open an off-licence in Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, a spokesman for her said yesterday.
The decision to accept a €1,800 donation from businessman and member of the Progressive Democrats, Mr Joseph Fernandez, was taken on Tuesday by the Secretary General of the Department of Defence, Mr David O'Callaghan.
The Tánaiste described Mr Fernandez yesterday as "a good-spirited individual". She said she was surprised when she heard about the issue from the Leitrim Observer on Monday.
Speaking in Limerick after a North South Ministerial Council meeting, she said it was a matter for Mr Fernandez to decide what to do. He was a member of Meath branch of the Progressive Democrats, "somebody I know and know well through the party".
A spokesman for the Department of Defence said it was contacted by the Leitrim Observer on Monday and told an unnamed businessman wanted to make the payment. Mr O'Callaghan made the decision on Tuesday to accept the payment if it was sent with a covering note stating who it was from and what it was for.
The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, was told of the decision yesterday and approved it. A cheque sent by registered post by the Leitrim Observer on Tuesday had not arrived at the Department by yesterday afternoon. "If someone wants to meet some of the costs of that flight then we are prepared to accept that," the spokesman said.
The flight took 50 minutes each way and such flights cost €901 per hour, excluding wages. "On such a basis the flight cost €1,501 "so he paid slightly over the odds".
The spokesman said the use of the Aer Corps aircraft had been approved by the Taoiseach and "as far as we are concerned there was no charge for the flight". It was highly unusual for the Department to be offered donations.
Asked about Mr Fernandez's offer, the Taoiseach's spokesperson said Mr Ahern had approved the Tánaiste's flight in accordance with existing rules. "As far as she was concerned she was doing her job. If submitted, the money will go directly into central funds, rather than paying for the flight," he said.
Mr Fernandez (51), who is a member of the PDs since the 1980s, said he had felt sorry for Ms Harney when he saw her arrive home from her honeymoon to be "accosted by reporters" asking questions about the flight.
He decided to pay for the flight without discussing the matter with anyone. He got the figure of €1,800 from newspaper reports. "I made the payment as a taxpayer, a PD, and an admirer of Mary Harney . . . She didn't murder anybody. I think she deserves a break."
Mr Fernandez was in Leitrim on Monday and decided to call into the Leitrim Observer and make the payment through it, as the paper knew the background to the matter and had first reported the story.
