Transport Minister Noel Dempsey has blamed human error as the reason he did not receive a file from his Department, which showed that Aer Lingus intended to end the Heathrow link to Shannon, in early June. This was six weeks before he learned of the decision.
Minister Dempsey was answering questions in the Dáil, where Labour's Tommy Broughan had earlier called on him and his predecessor Martin Cullen to resign.
Mr Broughan said the Minister had misled the Dail in September on this issue and that he and his predecessor, Martin Cullen, had known of the danger to the Heathrow link. He said either Minister Dempsey had known, and so should resign, or he was responsible for a dysfunctional department, in which case he should still resign.
The Minister replied that internal Department documents, which Mr Broughan had seen, clearly showed that he had not been informed of the Aer Lingus decision at an early date.
Earlier Mr Cullen said he had not been informed of the Aer Lingus development, which he said should have been brought to Mr Dempsey's attentions within 24 hours.
When Aer Lingus announced in August that it was closing its Shannon to Heathrow route, and transferring the landing slots to Belfast, the Government said this was the first it had heard of it.
But a memo released to today's Irish Examiner under Freedom of Information shows the Department was aware of the plan as early as June 13.
Minister Noel Dempsey, who took over the Transport portfolio the day after the memo was written, says he was never informed by his officials of the Aer Lingus plan.
His predecessor, Martin Cullen, today told reporters he had not been informed either, and that this was a 'serious failure' on the part of officials.
