Dublin Airport whistleblower concerned about such actions in future

A former member of airport operator DAA’s security staff says he is pleased to have received confirmation from the Irish Aviation Authority that concerns he raised about procedures at Dublin Airport in a protected disclosure had been addressed following an investigation. However, he said he still had concerns about how the DAA would handle another whistleblower highlighting safety issues after the way he was treated.

Matthew Butterly had raised several safety-related issues in protected disclosures made in 2022, initially to a senior member of DAA staff and subsequently to Labour TD Duncan Smith who passed them on to the Minister for Transport. Mr Butterly disclosed, among other issues, that several airport police were bypassing security checks in non-emergency situations, contrary to security regulations.

He also said a drop in training standards had led to below-par screening at the airport, leaving vulnerabilities that could be exploited.

DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs subsequently told members of the Oireachtas committee on transport that investigators had “found no evidence of any serious or systemic deficiencies with respect to recruitment, training or certification at Dublin Airport”.

Several separate investigations were carried out, however, and the Irish Aviation Authority confirmed recently to Mr Butterly that, following its assessment of his claim that security checks were sometimes being bypassed, “there were findings and the Dublin Airport Authority has submitted a corrective action plan (CAP) to IAA (Irish Aviation Authority). DAA is now required to implement the CAP to resolve this issue.”

In separate correspondence, the Irish Aviation Authority told Mr Butterly issues he had been raised about a need for additional patrols had also been addressed but on foot of an external audit rather than as a result of his disclosure.

The letter notes that “the matters relating to the requirement for additional patrols were first raised by you with DAA in November of 2022. Had these matters been addressed in the first instance, they would not have been the subject of findings as part of an audit of DAA in December 2022, or the subject of reports to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner or the IAA.”

Mr Butterly said he was pleased the Irish Aviation Authority had confirmed the issues he had raised were genuine and had required corrective action “but I still have deep concerns about the DAA’s ability to handle any future protected disclosures and about the culture within the organisation with regard to a staff member who might highlight another safety or security concerns”.

In a statement, the DAA said “these issues have been comprehensively addressed to the satisfaction of all regulatory bodies and therefore we will not be making any further comment”.

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