Defence Forces

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 May 2023

Tuesday, 16 May 2023

Questions (194)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

194. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if he, his officials and-or the Defence Forces have engaged with organisers of an event (details supplied) in respect of the use of Baldonnel for its 2023 air display; if permission to use Baldonnel has been granted in that regard; the amount raised by the Defence Forces in respect of fees for use of its infrastructure since 2005 by foreign military aircraft and air show organisers, in tabular form; if foreign military aircraft that refuel at the base are billed for that; and, if so, the costs associated with same over the past ten years to date. [22472/23]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Defence

I can confirm that my officials and the Defence Forces have received a request from the organisers of this event for support in relation to its 2023 air display and that the matter is currently under consideration.  

Requests for permission to land aircraft at Casement Aerodrome are dealt with on a case-by-case basis and permission may be granted, subject to operational, security and administrative considerations.

I can confirm that foreign military aircraft that land at Baldonnel are billed by my Department for the cost of any refuelling. I have requested the information sought from the Deputy on refuelling charges incurred by military aircraft since 2013, and on fees charged to foreign military aircraft and air show organisers since 2005, but unfortunately it was not available within the timeframe allowed. I will follow up directly with the Deputy as soon as the information is available.

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51:

I refer to your recent Parliamentary Question requesting information in relation to refuelling charges incurred by military aircraft since 2013, and on fees for use of Defence Force infrastructure by foreign military aircraft and air show organisers since 2005. This information was not available in advance of the deadline for Parliamentary Questions response. I can now confirm the refuelling charges incurred by military aircraft since 2013 as detailed below;

Year	Total Fuel Costs Invoiced
2013	Nil
2014	Nil
2015	Nil
2016	€45,085.20
2017	€19,621.53
2018	€35,194.16
2019	€549.69
2020	Nil
2021	Nil
2022	Nil
2023	Nil to date
Total	€100,450.58

With regard to your enquiry in respect of fees for use of facilities at the Aerodrome, the Department does not apply a charging regime in these cases, this reflects the traditional reciprocal arrangements on stopovers across the community of Air Force authority. In order to protect the Minister’s interest the Department does secure “Hold Harmless” agreements and the necessary indemnification of the Minister.

I trust this addresses your enquiry