Minister is left grounded after failing to produce ID

There are no exceptions, as Minister for Arts and Tourism John O'Donoghue learned to his cost on being refused permission to board a Ryanair flight at Cork airport because he carried no picture identification.

Mr O'Donoghue was travelling to Dublin where he was scheduled to record an appearance on the RTÉ programme The Week in Politics.

The Minister was asked for identification at the Ryanair check-in desk, and when he could not produce the required level of identification he was refused admission to the 9.50am flight to Dublin.

A spokesman for Mr O'Donoghue confirmed the mishap yesterday but refused to say how the Minister had completed his journey to Dublin, where he took part in the television programme as planned.

"It is no big deal," the spokesman said. "He did not have the required ID, so he did not get on the flight."

The spokesman said he could not say why Mr O'Donoghue was in Cork yesterday morning, instead of using the closer Kerry airport at Farranfore near Tralee.

Nor could the spokesman say if the Minister had travelled from his home in Cahirciveen on the Iveragh peninsula to Cork for the flight.

Efforts to contact the Minister himself were unsuccessful.

Mr O'Donoghue is a frequent traveller through Farranfore airport and, while Government business keeps him in Dublin during the week, he usually spends the weekends in his Kerry constituency.

A Ryanair spokeswoman confirmed the incident yesterday, pointing out that the Minister did not have the required documents.

There were, she said, "absolutely no exceptions. It is in the interests of the safety and security of all our passengers."

The spokeswoman drew attention to the company's website where details of the identification documents required are provided.

These are either a valid passport; a national identity card of specified European countries, or a valid European Economic Area driving licence.

A spokesman for Cork airport said it had offered to mediate between the Minister and Ryanair, but the airline stuck fast to its policy.

The airport authority spokesman said he understood Mr O'Donoghue had travelled to Dublin by car.