The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has described as inappropriate, the presentation of Cartier watches by the former chairman of Aer Rianta to a number of board members.
Mr Noel Hanlon had presented the watches worth €9,000 each to four outgoing and retiring board members, and also accepted one himself. Mr Ahern said that "quite frankly, I don't think it's appropriate".
The Green Party's finance spokesman, Mr Dan Boyle, had asked the Taoiseach in the Dáil if he believed that the regulations on the acceptance and declaration of gifts, that applies to elected representatives, should be extended to those appointed to public bodies.
Mr Ahern told the House that if he received a gift of more than €600, "I have to give that gift up. Nobody in this House - and I think we all work quite hard - could receive such a gift.
"Quite frankly I don't think it's appropriate."
The gifts to the retiring and former board members of the airports authority, was one of the last acts in office by Mr Hanlon, before Aer Rianta went out of existence last Thursday and was replaced by three separate airport authorities for Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.
The watches given to Cork businesswoman, Ms Freda Hayes; ex-GPA executive, Mr Liam Meade; former CIÉ chairman, Mr Dermot O'Leary and the chairman of ESB, Mr Tadhg O'Donoghue, came from Aer Rianta funds.
Mr Hanlon had described the gifts as appropriate recognition of the exceptional contribution made by retiring members of the Aer Rianta board.
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