Ahern gives state backing to use of body scanners at airports

JUSTICE MINISTER Dermot Ahern said he was in favour of introducing body scanners at Irish airports in the wake of the attempted bombing of a US-bound aircraft on Christmas Day.

Mr Ahern backed the move at a high-level meeting between EU justice ministers and the US Homeland Security Secretary in Spain, Janet Napolitano in Toledo, Spain.

Mr Ahern told his counterparts the Irish Government would support any additional security measures – including increased passenger information.

Referring to the botched Slovak security test earlier this month, Mr Ahern said it was a “wake-up call” that explosives could inadvertently be placed on an internal EU flight without detection.

Prior to the meeting, Mr Ahern held a bilateral meeting with Slovak ambassador to Spain Jan Skoda.

At the full meeting, the Slovak ambassador publicly apologised to Ireland for the incident.

The joint meeting was dominated by the renewed threat to aviation security, following the attempted bombing of the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. The US is now seeking greater co-ordination of data.

Ms Napolitano said the exchange of data relating to passengers on flights from Europe to the US was responsible for one in three arrests of terrorist suspects in the US.

Mr Ahern said Ireland would play its part in defeating international terror: “If additional measures are required – and they are – either in exchange of passenger information or better technology, then we should do so.

“We need to fast-track exchange of information which can play a very important role in defeating international terrorism. Law abiding citizens have nothing to fear from increased information exchange, particularly internally in the EU, and better scanning devices and technology.

“International cooperation and coordination of all our efforts, particularly with the United States, will be essential to meet the terrorists head on.

“We must and will stand together against those who would kill indiscriminately to further their aims and we will stand firmly with all those who hold dearly democracy and fundamental rights.”

Britain and France are leading calls for the introduction of passenger name recognition (PNR) – information exchange used in profiling and detecting terror suspects – across the EU, similar to that between the EU and the US.

A spokesman for Mr Ahern said: “Minister Ahern broadly supports the move. He also supports the introduction of body scanners at Irish airports.”