Taxpayers ‘did not lose out in sale of army helicopters’

GOVERNMENT ministers have denied that the taxpayer lost out on millions of euro following the sale of four Irish army helicopters.

The four Defence Forces helicopters were originally sold to a US company for a mere €311,000 but, according to weekend reports, were then resold to the Chilean navy for nearly €19 million.

However, Junior Defence Minister Pat Carey yesterday said it was “factually incorrect” as claimed in reports that taxpayers had lost out on the deal.