Ministers' travel on State aircraft cost €3m

Travel by Cabinet Ministers on State aircraft and helicopters cost almost €3 million last year, according to the 2005 ministerial flight schedule obtained by The Irish Times.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, incurred the highest flying expenses on the State fleet, with a total bill of €857,000. Mr Ahern also undertook the single most expensive trip, on the Government Lear jet 45, at a cost of €168,000.

That six-day journey took place at the beginning of last year just after the Asian tsunami. It involved Mr Ahern travelling to many of the places worst hit by the tsunami, including Phuket, Thailand, and Banda Aceh in Indonesia.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern ran up the next most significant bill at €643,000. Mr Ahern's busy schedule necessitated him taking more domestic flights than other Cabinet members. He also had a very busy schedule of international flights to a variety of engagements, mostly in Europe and the US.

This was followed by Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan, whose flying expenses reached €197,000 by the end of the year. Ms Coughlan flew most frequently to Brussels for EU agriculture meetings.

A total of 15 Cabinet Ministers, including the Taoiseach, used the ministerial fleet for domestic and international travel last year. There were 252 trips undertaken during the period, involving several flights each. The quietest period was August, when Ministers are on summer holiday, with just four journeys taking place.

President Mary McAleese used the State fleet just once during 2005. On September 13th she flew on the Beech Super King Air from Baldonnel to Galway and on to Knock before returning to Baldonnel.

Mrs McAleese opened the office of An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commissioner) in Spiddal, Co Galway, on that day.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny also travelled once on the Gulfstream IV during the year. He travelled with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste Mary Harney to the funeral in Rome of Pope John Paul II in April.

Government Ministers have access to six aircraft and helicopter types. The aircraft are the Lear jet 45, Gulfstream IV, Beech Super King Air and CASA. The helicopters are the Dauphin and Alouette models.

These are all crewed and maintained by members of the Air Corps. The aircraft and helicopters are used for a variety of purposes including ministerial transport, search and rescue and other emergency missions and fisheries protection duties. In the past the fleet has been used to collect organs from the UK for transplant to Irish patients in the Republic.

The schedule of flights obtained from the Department of Defence includes the dates of departure and return and routes of all flights undertaken last year.