Cowen defends backing of FF-linked firm

FINANCE Minister Brian Cowen yesterday defended his backing for a commercial enterprise near Dublin Airport headed by a businessman from a Fianna Fáil family.

His decision — taken when he was Minister for Transport in the early 1990s — was based on an objective assessment, he told the Mahon Planning Tribunal.

Mr Cowen agreed in principle to grant commercial road access through State lands to an airfreight warehousing consortium at Cloghran.