Over €500k spent on private jet trips for Taoiseach and Tánaiste so far this year

Ken Foxe

Almost €520,000 has been spent so far this year hiring private jets to bring the Taoiseach and Tánaiste on trips overseas.

The Department of Defence said they had hired air taxis 11 times this year, including two trips for President Michael D Higgins.

They only provided details on the nine government flights, however, with an average cost of almost €58,000 for each of the nine journeys.

The huge outlay began in January when just over €78,000 was paid for a jet to take Taoiseach Micheál Martin and a five-strong delegation to Katowice in Poland.

That same-day flight included 314 minutes on board, with an average per hour flying cost of around €14,900.

In February, three air taxis were chartered for the Taoiseach, the first one to Brussels early that month costing just under €42,000.

On February 9th, another jet took the Taoiseach and six officials first to Brussels, then to Paris at a cost of €43,700.

Another flight in mid-February which travelled from the aerodrome at Baldonnel to Munich, then to Cork and back to Baldonnel proved the most expensive this year.

The final bill for that trip – 289 minutes flying time in all – came to almost €82,000, according to records released under FOI.

There were a further three air taxis for the Taoiseach in March, the first of which to Liverpool and Brussels cost around €67,500.

A trip in mid-March to Brussels with a stop-off in Cork on the way back cost just under €55,000, the Department of Defence said.

A final flight that month to Paris cost nearly €40,500 for the Taoiseach and a delegation of five people.

In April, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste Simon Harris travelled together to Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis.

That trip, which included 502 minutes of flight time, cost €71,797.

A second jet was also hired for President Michael D Higgins, but the Department of Defence refused to provide details of how much that cost.

Under Freedom of Information laws, all records relating to the President are exempt from release, a transparency gap that is likely to come into focus again during the forthcoming election.

The final flight for the Taoiseach in early May to Antwerp in Belgium cost nearly €39,000.

One other air taxi was hired for the President in the period since May, but no details of that trip were provided by the department.

The use of private jet charters has become increasingly common since the government’s old Learjet was grounded last year after a series of mechanical problems.

A new €53 million Dassault Falcon 6X jet has been ordered by the government but is not expected to begin service until 2026.

One of the Air Corps’ PC12 aircraft has also been used for eight ministerial flights this year.

Seven of the flights were for the Tánaiste Simon Harris to travel to locations including Brussels, Munich, and Luxembourg while it was used for a single flight for the Department of Enterprise in April.