Request for military to go on stand-by at Dublin Airport was a “Rubicon of sorts” for the Defence Forces

Dublin Airport Authority were prepared to pay “whatever is required” as the Defence Forces said they were being asked to cross a “Rubicon of sorts” in helping with the security delays that have dogged the airport.

The military were put on standby early last month to step in to ease lengthy queues at Dublin Airport and avoid further “reputational damage” from weeks of queuing chaos.

In correspondence with their parent department, the Defence Forces said they would need as much “lead in time as possible” to get prepared for airport duties.

An email from Major General Anthony McKenna on June 23 said: “I think that this point is required to be made forcefully before we find ourselves committed and deployed underprepared in an uncertain task.”