Mr Dermot O'Leary, the Aer Rianta director who arranged for Mr Liam Lawlor TD and his wife to pass through Dublin Airport away from waiting media last month, says he is not going to resign from the position. He said last night he had done nothing wrong.
The chairman of Aer Rianta, Mr Noel Hanlon, however, said on RTÉ yesterday that it was wrong for the Lawlors to have been afforded special treatment.
Mr Hanlon wrote to the Minister for Public Enterprise yesterday in response to a request from Mrs O'Rourke for "the full particulars of Deputy Liam Lawlor's recent return to Dublin Airport".
Mr Hanlon tells the Minister that Mr O'Leary contacted the airport duty manager on December 28th, saying: "Mrs Lawlor in particular was very upset with regard to the return to Dublin."
Mr O'Leary had asked "if anything could be done on compassionate grounds to smooth transit through Dublin Airport".
Mr and Mrs Lawlor arrived from New York on the morning of December 29th, cleared immigration and proceeded to the baggage hall. They were not required to pass though Customs.
Accompanied by the duty sergeant, they left through the staff exit, walked across the arrivals hall area to the street to Mr Lawlor's car, Mr Hanlon said.
Such arrangements were not normal but were made purely on compassionate grounds for Mrs Lawlor. Nothing illegal or untoward was done, he said.
The next Aer Rianta board meeting will discuss the matter, and arrangements are being made to have "proper protocol procedures" put in place.
Mrs O'Rourke said last night that she intended meeting Mr Hanlon early next week and would discuss the matter with the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance.
Before her statement, Mr O'Leary would not comment on the letter yesterday evening, explaining that he would not say anything until he was happy that the Minister had received it. Asked about his denial earlier in the week of intervening to ease the Lawlors' passage through the airport, Mr O'Leary said: "I didn't deny anything."
When it was put to him that a phone conversation with The Irish Times on Wednesday, about the allegations concerning him, was concluded with the question: "So you are denying it?" and his answer was, "Most certainly, yes", Mr O'Leary said that it was his understanding he was not being asked about whether or not he called Dublin Airport management, seeking special arrangements for Mr Lawlor. He said his understanding was that he was being asked whether he denied Mr Lawlor had asked him to make the arrangements.
"There may have been confusion," he said yesterday.
The Fine Gael spokesman on public enterprise, Mr Jim Higgins, said Mr O'Leary should resign from the Aer Rianta board, "and if he does not he should be forced to resign by Mrs O'Rourke".
