Head of Oireachtas committee blasts DAA as CEO and chair refuse to appear amid crisis

"'This refusal sends out the wrong message to the public,' says Joint Oireachtas Transport Committee's Michael Murphy"

""Dublin Airport is a national gateway, the front door to Ireland, and with that comes responsibility to answer reasonable questions in a public forum," said Mr Murphy."

""Refusing to engage with the Oireachtas transport committee does nothing to build confidence in the governance of the airport," he added. "It's all about fronting up, not closing doors and it's regrettable that they have closed the door.""

The DAA declined the Joint Oireachtas Transport Committee's invitation for chief executive Kenny Jacobs and chair Basil Geoghegan to appear next Wednesday to discuss governance at Dublin and Cork airports. The DAA confirmed the invitation was declined and said Mr Jacobs will attend a board meeting in Cork, while declining to state whether the current crisis would be on the agenda or whether he would absent himself for that portion. Committee chair Michael Murphy described the refusal as deeply disappointing and indicated the committee will consider avenues including potential parliamentary powers to compel an appearance. An agreement would see Mr Jacobs receive a roughly €1m exit package and leave in January, pending ministerial sign-off; two earlier protective-disclosure complaints were not upheld and relations between Mr Jacobs and the chair have deteriorated.

Read at Irish Independent