Reports that Sir Reg Empey, the North's trade minister, demanded that the Tricolour flying outside the Great Southern Hotel at Dublin Airport be removed before he entered are greatly exaggerated.
Empey and his tourism counterpart, James McDaid, were holding a North/Ssouth ministerial council prior to the launch of Tourism Ireland a few weeks ago when it was noticed that the tricolour was no longer flying. It had indeed been lowered, but this is normal procedure for ministerial meetings under the Belfast Agreement. In the North, a problem rarely arises because the meetings are usually held in hotels and they don't fly flags - too contentious. In the Republic, the offending emblems are removed as a matter of mutual respect.
So the Dublin meeting went ahead without flags but Sir Reg did sport a poppy.
