Martin under fire for €10,000 jet ride

HEALTH MINISTER Micheál Martin was yesterday accused of using the Government jet as a taxi to get home at a cost of €10,000, when he missed a scheduled flight home from Switzerland.

Fine Gael Health Spokesperson Olivia Mitchell described the official explanation as to why Mr Martin had to use the jet as “barely credible”.

The Minister was delayed despite arriving at the check-in desk at Geneva 40 minutes before the departure of the flight last Wednesday. En route to the airport, he had discovered that he had left his passport at the hotel.

The passport was sent by courier to the airport and, according to the Department, this was not the reason that the Minister and four officials were not allowed to board the flight.

The Department of Health said there was no alternative flight home, but Ms Mitchell said that at least 26 flights had left Geneva that evening for cities with connections to Dublin.

If Mr Martin claimed he had been delayed and then prevented from boarding the plane by Swiss officials, she said, he should make a formal complaint.

“If this is the case, it would be reasonable to expect the Irish Government to lodge an official complaint with the Swiss authorities, and to seek a refund for the €10,000 cost of diverting the Government jet to Geneva,” Ms Mitchell said.

She also questioned the insistence that there was no alternative means of returning home in time for a meeting the Minister was due to address the next day.

“A quick check of the website for Geneva Airport reveals that there are 26 flights between 3pm and 10pm to destinations including Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, London and Manchester. All of these destinations have regular connections with Dublin.

“One must wonder whether every actual flight option was considered before incurring this ridiculous charge to the Irish taxpayer,” she said.