Vol. 404 No. 6
18 Mr. Dukes asked the Taoiseach if he will outline in relation to the proposed purchase of a Gulfstream IV executive jet for the Aerchór (a) the total cost to the Government of the proposed acquisition, (b) the financing arrangements being employed, (c) whether any agency fees will be involved, (d) the other types of aircraft which were considered, and (e) the reasons this particular aircraft was selected.
Tenders were invited by the Department of Defence through advertisement in the Official Journal of the European Communities in July last for the supply of an executive jet aircraft. The tenders were due for return in September 1990. A technical and economic evaluation of the various offers made to supply aircraft has been proceeding. No contract has been placed to date for the acquisition of an executive jet aircraft.
Could the Taoiseach then explain to me why it has been reported recently that the Government are about to acquire a Gulfstream IV executive jet and that officials of the Department of Defence and the Department of Transport and Communications will shortly be going to Savannah, Georgia to conclude the deal?
The Deputy knows well from countless such exchanges across the floor of this House that my advice to him is that he should not be influenced by newspaper reports on these matters.
Would the Taoiseach not agree that Members of this House are more or less prone to be influenced by newspaper reports when the Taoiseach himself does not give the information. Would the Taoiseach agree with me that he was being, to say the least, a little bit coy in January of last year when answering questions about this and that his intention was perhaps to obscure the truth a little when he said, for example, and insisted, that the aircraft which the Government had then acquired was leased, and I quote "for six months and not a moment longer."
I must dissuade the Deputy from quoting at this time. It is not in order.
Would the Taoiseach comment on this? Would the Taoiseach not also agree that he was intending a little to obscure the truth when he laid emphasis on the fact that the aircraft which they had then acquired was needed because of the increasing internationalisation of the work of the Presidency and particularly of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Collins, "Collins of Arabia" as he is popularly known——
The Deputy is straying into other areas.
Could the Taoiseach tell me whether the aircraft or several types of aircraft which are now being envisaged would have a similar range and capacity to the one that was used during the course of the Presidency?
Yes, that is the general idea.
Could the Taoiseach then tell me if he now expects Ministers to be travelling as widely over the next couple of years as they did during the course of the Presidency and, if that is the case, was the Taoiseach not obscuring the truth in January of last year when he laid emphasis on the range of requirements?
No, I never obscure the truth or attempt to.
Just ignore parts——
Like the reshuffle.
The position is, as the Deputy knows full well and every Member of this House knows full well, that not alone members of the Government but Members of this House are in the pursuance of their duties travelling to an infinitely greater extent than they did four or five years ago. That is a reflection of the world we live in. First of all we have all the obligations of the European Community and we have increasingly a much wider range of obligations internationally. It is simple common sense. In fact, as I have argued here before, it is an economy to have a suitable aircraft which can substitute for scheduled flying.
I am quite certain that it is impossible these days for any Government to carry out the steadily expanding and increasing duties they have internationally without some suitable aircraft at their disposal.
The time has come to deal with other questions.
Will the Chair permit me to raise a very brief point?
Sorry, Deputy Dukes, I must now proceed to deal with priority questions for which, as the House knows, a rigid time limit applies. Indeed, we shall be concluding these questions at 3.45 p.m.
Before you start I want to register my dissatisfaction at the way Question Time went today.
Deputy, please do not intervene now.
It was a disgrace that we had only a quarter of an hour for questions to the Minister for Justice and we have no opportunity to put supplementaries.
Deputy, please desist. Question No. 20 to the Minister for Justice and Communications.
