THE Tanaiste rejected criticism of his air travel by a Fianna Fail backbencher.
Mr Spring told Mr Ivor Callely (FF, Dublin North Central) that he had succeeded every year he had been in office in reducing the transport costs to his Department. Travel costs for January and February of this year came to £930, he added.
Mr Callely said he appreciated the demands on a Minister for Foreign Affairs. However, he added, "to put it bluntly", some members of the general public were "a little concerned" that there was a garda driven car available to transport the Tanaiste to and from Kerry but he chose, at the taxpayers' expense, to use the Government aircraft.
Mr Spring said that having a state car and a garda driver was a facility ministers had had for a long time. He added that, if he took a commercial flight to Kerry at to p.m. on a Friday, the likelihood was that his garda driver would be waiting for him at Farranfore. "I think that is quite acceptable."
Mr Callely said he was amazed at the number of Kerry Dublin return flights, sometimes carrying one passenger. Observing that Mr Callely seemed to have "an inquisitive nature" relating to his mode of transport, Mr Spring pointed out that he lived in Tralee and represented Kerry North as well as being Minister for Foreign Affairs. There was a regional airport in Kerry.
By and large, he would use commercial services at 6.25 a.m. or at 10 p.m. That gave him a longer day in the office, which was demanded by his job, given that the Department was working practically around the clock. It was customary for ministers, living in Limerick and Cork, for example, to be collected at Cork Airport for Brussels on a Sunday evening, which allowed them to spend the earlier part of the day with their families.
Ministers living in the Cork region would also invariably use air transport to get to Dublin so as to be in their office early in the morning, Mr Spring said.