The Department of Transport today said it cost €13,000 to use the Government jet to fly Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey from Dublin to Derry for a speaking engagement and on to London.
Mr Dempsey has been accused of wasting taxpayers’ money and widely criticised for using both Government jet and his State car for the trip. He was flown to Derry on the Gulfstream IV jet where he was met by his garda driver and Ministerial car and driven just under 100km to Glenties, Co Donegal, to speak at the MacGill summer school last month. He then returned by car to Derry airport and flew on the jet to London.
In a statement, however, the department dismissed as “wildly inaccurate” a media report that the flights cost €100,000. The department said that by the time Mr Dempsey was finished at the debate, which started at 4 pm, there was “no commercial flight” he could have got from any Irish city to London for an urgent meeting at 7.15 am the next day.
The London engagement “was about potentially securing very significant investment in Ireland” but no further details have been given about the meeting.
Fine Gael communications spokesman Leo Varadkar said his own return flight to Donegal cost €55 to speak at the same summer school. Dissident Tipperary Fianna Fáil TD Mattie McGrath who has lost the party whip, accused the Minister of behaving like a “prince”.
Donegal Sinn Féin Senator Pearse Doherty said “the Minister’s actions were particularly disgraceful given that he was travelling to Donegal to take part in a debate on the need to change political culture in Ireland”.
Mr Doherty spoke in the same debate as the Minister on the theme of change in the electoral system and political culture.