Taoiseach accuses Pearse Doherty of ‘asserting falsehoods’ over claim Japan flight rebooked for hurling semi-final
Micheál Martin accused Pearse Doherty TD of "asserting falsehoods" and "poor politics" when he made the suggestion, based on media reports.He also said there was no additional cost from a late decision to fly east, via Toronto, rather than west, via Dubai.But the Taoiseach then said the final costs "haven't been reconciled," but would be published in due course on his Department's website.The story was "unequivocally and categorically" wrong, he said, because the Cork v Dublin All-Ireland hurling semi-final was due to begin at 5pm.One flight would have landed him back in the capital at 8am and the other at noon, so he was going to see the match in either case, he said. He indeed attended Croke Park to see his native county's famous win.The Finance committee was discussing revised estimates when Mr Doherty said: "Your travel made the media recently. You returned from a trip to Japan, and you rebooked that trip home through Toronto."It is suggested that that was on the basis of security advice. Can you explain, if that is the case, why you didn't share the security advice with any of the media corps who were travelling, in relation to their security?"Mr Martin replied: "It's a nonsense story. It is important that the context is made very clear. The story is suggesting there was a rescheduling to do with the match. There wasn't."The alternative would have had me in at 12 o'clock. The way I went, I came in at eight. I had nothing to do with it. I don't book the travel."And in terms of the security at the time, these were booked a week in advance. And in the Middle East there are issues, as we all know. It was a precautionary approach."Mr Doherty asked him to explain why, if it was security advice that avoided the risk of flying through Dubai, he had not shared that information "with other Irish citizens who were accompanying you on the trip."Mr Martin said: "Two things. First of all, there wasn't additional cost as a result of that, to my knowledge. I don't get into the minutiae of the routes."Anybody who's a journalist sent out by their media organisation, they take their own advices. They organise their own travel and so forth."The people who were organising on my behalf took a view that the Middle East was problematic in terms of cancelations and in terms of activity."That's what I've been told."Mr Doherty said it was "a bit bizarre", saying the Taoiseach had suggested it was "more about [onward flight] cancellation, as opposed to anything personally happening yourself."Instead of "an abundance of caution," he said the Taoiseach "flew through Toronto because there was a risk of cancelation, and therefore you would miss the match."Mr Martin said the assertion was wrong. "I just want to unequivocally say to you, and categorically -- like the truth does matter on these matters - this had nothing to do with the match."The match was on at five o'clock that day. So either route would have got me in at eight or 12."This has nothing to do with budget spending, it's just political. That's what you're at, and it's regrettable."Mr Martin said that the switch was "to mitigate any risk of flight cancelations," Mr Doherty said. "You would have missed the match. That is simple fact, because the security situation already had resulted in extensive Middle East airspace being closed in the days prior to this being booked."Mr Martin snapped: "You're not asking a question. You're asserting falsehoods. And you don't want to allow a reasonable, rational explanation to be given."He asked Mr Doherty to withdraw the assertion. "You are articulating a false story deliberately."
