Presidential use of jet: Costly flight of fancy

It is not only the question of airports which stimulate political rows. As we witnessed during the rapidly closing presidential election, the use of jets by our leaders also raises the collective blood pressure.

The President’s utilisation of the Government’s Learjet and the cost of using it appears to be a State secret, but helpful experts with calculators and a thorough knowledge of the jet’s fuel consumption have estimated that President Michael D Higgins’ return flight to Belfast in May resulted in a charge to the public purse of approximately €5,670, to which can be added the cost of having his official car driven from Dublin to meet him at Belfast Airport.

Adequately salaried TDs, ministers, and tenants at Áras an Uachtaráin will possibly look at the subsequent accusations of waste and extravagance and groan. This is because the sort of people who run the country, and especially ministers handling budgets that can be counted in billions, are often sharp at maths and can quickly see that €5,670 divided by the total number of taxpayers works out at beer so small as to be invisible to the naked eye. What, we can hear them cry, is all the fuss about? They’re just scraping the barrel!

There’s a fuss, firstly, because it’s prudent to look at how a president chooses to use every cent of the State’s resources. Secondly, it looks bad to voters — who are told public spending must be controlled with care — for whom €5,670 seems like a small fortune. Recalling the updated Victorian advice, if you look after the cents, the euro will look after themselves, they might well ask: What’s wrong with the train?