Christmas comes early for the Government as Learjet flies in

CHRISTMAS came early for the Cabinet yesterday as Defence Minister Michael Smith took time out from the more traditional forms of Yuletide shopping to unveil the new €8 million Government jet at Baldonnel Airport.

Although it bares no comparison to Air Force 1 the US presidential aircraft the eight-seater Bombardier Learjet is still a state-of-the-art piece of aviation machinery designed to whisk ministers around Europe on EU business.

Clearly annoyed at media attempts to portray the jet as some type of executive toy, Mr Smith defended its purchase as "an essential tool of government".