Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not think there were any sinister reasons for that. I think there were different opinions about that. The advice was taken. It was the subject of some debate, but certainly there was never any intention, that I know of, to ignore it. My impression was that it was always going to actually come into existence, but the implementation of it took a certain amount of time for technical reasons. I do not think there was any intention at any stage that those locator forms should not come into existence.

There were certainly some difficulties about who would collect them - whether it would be the Garda; who would distribute them; and whether it would be at the point of departure or at the point of arrival. Those things certainly presented some debate, but there was no hidden hand saying we wanted to delay it for any reason. There were logistical reasons about the technicalities. There were international implications about giving the forms to people in one jurisdiction and whether the airline did it. I recall all that being part of a debate, but I do not recall anybody opposing it on any grounds. I think there was always an intention for NPHET's advice to be taken.

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