Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

It forwards newspaper headlines on a regular basis to a wide range of people across Departments. That is what it does a number of times every day.

The Aer Lingus decision on the establishment of a hub in Belfast and the withdrawal of Shannon-Heathrow services was announced by the company on 7 August. The position is no reports of the decision came to the attention of the communications unit in my Department in advance of the company's announcement on 7 August. It picked it up on 7 August, but it did not pick it up in the northern newspapers, which it does not monitor, or in the Irish Examiner earlier than that.

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