Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. The message from the Government could not be clearer. The DAA needs to do whatever it takes to ensure this issue is addressed and that we do not see those kinds of scenes again, especially on the forthcoming bank holiday weekend. That is why the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, reinforced to the DAA executives the imperative to get on top of this because it is just not fair. It is not fair on the members of the public who rely on the services at the airport to go about their business, travel abroad, see loved ones, return home after a trip to Ireland or go on business abroad. They should be assured that if they turn up in good time for their flight, the airport will do its job and get them through the various stages and get them on board. There was a detailed discussion today about what is required to ensure that is achieved, including measures to improve queue management and maximising the availability of staffing resources to increase the number of security lanes at peak times. The DAA is now finalising those operational arrangements and we expect to hear much more about them in the next 24 hours and of course the authority will appear before the Oireachtas joint committee. The message from the Government, as conveyed by the Minister and Minister of State today and by me here in the Dáil could not be clearer, namely, the DAA must ensure this is not repeated.

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