Tánaiste authorises plan to buy new government jet

Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Martin said the Learjet which is used to fly the Taoiseach and other senior ministers has proved increasingly unreliable in recent months. File picture: Colin Keegan

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has finally signed off on a plan to replace its government jet, with the current Learjet coming to the “end of its lifecycle”.

Speaking in the Dáil, Mr Martin said the Learjet which is used to fly the Taoiseach and other senior ministers has proved increasingly unreliable in recent months.

“There have been issues with the Learjet, no point saying otherwise. There have been serious issues with it. I’m not prepared to stand over it. And in my view, a replacement jet is required,” he said.

The Tánaiste, who is also the Minister for Defence, told the Dáil that he has now approved a recommendation made by officials to purchase a new jet, indicating that the new plane should be able to travel longer distances.

Mr Martin cited the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, when Ireland essentially had to depend on other governments to get to places on planes for Irish citizens that needed to be evacuated quickly.

“That strategic reach is important. Medical transport and evacuation is also important, plus the numerous duties and ministerial obligations, for European meetings in particular, are such that we need to deal with this once and for all,” he said.

Mr Martin last year when he was Taoiseach fell victim to the plane suffering technical problems and was left stranded in Brussels. He had to then avail of a CASA maritime patrol aircraft to transport him home to Ireland from Brussels after the EU summit.

The Air Corps Learjet was purchased in 2004 and has been in operation since then. It only has the capacity to fly to the European region and does not travel long-haul. Officials will now move to progress to procurement phase, however, this is set to take between two to three years, according to Government sources.

Mr Martin said he believed now was the time to kick off the procurement process, stating that ”future governments” will benefit from the new aircraft, rather than the current government ministers.

It is understood that the Government is looking to purchase a 10-seater aircraft. Leasing an aircraft was ruled out due to it costing the taxpayer more money in the long term, it is believed.