The Tánaiste has admitted her flight on an Air Corps aircraft to Leitrim to open a friend's off-licence was a mistake, saying she was sorry she had not asked for the event to be held on a day she was not as busy. Ms Harney said yesterday she had flown to the event with her husband, Mr Brian Geoghegan, as she was very busy on that day, and no other form of transport would have got her there in time.
On the day she flew to Leitrim in the Casa fishery patrol aircraft, she had attended an afternoon function in Dublin, she said, and therefore could not have got to Manorhamilton in time for the opening of the premises owned by her friend, Mr Fergus O'Hagan.
"I understand the concern that has been expressed and I'm sorry I didn't ask for the event to be postponed until after Christmas when I could have used a different form of transport", she told Independent Network News (INN).
"If there is anything I've learned from what has happened it's that it was a mistake not to ask Mr O'Hagan to postpone the event until after Christmas when I could have gone by road."
Asked if she had made the wrong choice she said: "I did. It was a mistake and I'm sorry that I didn't have it postponed. You get some things right and some things wrong."
Fine Gael's public enterprise spokesman, Mr Jim Higgins, last night welcomed the Tánaiste's statement and said her "experience and admission should now serve as a reminder to other Government Ministers, including the Taoiseach, that rules and procedures must apply to the used of State-owned aircraft".
The Green MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna, has criticised the Tánaiste and the Government for allowing the aircraft to be used for the trip. "This is an outrageous abuse of public facilities, and I would call on the Taoiseach to reveal if these aircraft have been used for such trivial purposes on other occasions," she said.
Ms Harney said she used air transport a lot as "I like to get out of the office and go around the country when possible". She attended many events in different regions as a Minister, "to support local initiatives", and would often be in two or three counties on the one day.
"I accept the fact that he was a friend of mine and [the fact] that I used air transport adds, I suppose, to the sense of opposition there is to what happened. I really do wish I had had the event postponed when I could have done it in a different set of circumstances."
Asked if she would do the same thing again, she said: "If you're asking me if I have any plans to open another off-licence for a friend, I haven't, and if I do I'm going to choose another form of transport and go by road or rail."
Ms Harney gave interviews to radio stations and RTÉ television yesterday afternoon on her return from her honeymoon in Kenya. She declined to speak to newspaper reporters, with her spokesman saying she was too tired after her flight home yesterday.
Meanwhile, An Taisce has written to Leitrim County Council asking for clarification of the legal basis for the use of the premises in Manorhamilton as an off -licence.
It says the council's files show the building can be used as a pub, but has "failed to establish the legal status" of its use as an off-licence".
In its letter An Taisce also maintains its hinged uPVC windows are environmentally inappropriate and breach council guidelines for window installation.
Efforts to contact the owner of the off-licence, Mr Fergus O'Hagan, for comment last night were unsuccessful.
The acting Leitrim county manager, Mr Sean Kielty, said he had not yet received An Taisce's letter. "As soon as we get it, I will investigate the matter, and a report will be done," he said.