Smith Praises Air Corps for successful operation of the Ministerial Air Transport Service during Ireland's Presidency of the E.U.
27 August 2004
The Minister for Defence, Mr. Michael Smith, T.D. has praised the Air Corps for their exceptional level of performance of the Ministerial Air Transport Service (MATS) during Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. In the period January 1st to June 30th, Government Ministers availed of the MATS service extensively to meet their Presidency commitments. Recently compiled figures indicate that 177 missions were performed during this six-month period.
This contrasts with the 158 missions that were flown during the whole of 2003. During Ireland's Presidency, all MATS missions were successfully completed and no requirement arose for the hiring of additional aircraft.
The Ministerial Air Transport fleet consists of the 12 year old Gulfstream IV and the new Learjet 45. The 8-seater Learjet came into operation last January to replace the 23 year old Beechcraft in a Ministerial Air Transport role. It was manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace and cost €8.4 million net. The aircraft was funded from savings realised in the Defence Vote for 2003.
"Despite the heavy demands placed on the service during this exceptionally busy period, the level of service provided by the Air Corps was, as I expected, efficient and reliable" said Minister Smith. "I am particularly pleased with the positive feedback that I have received from the Taoiseach and other Ministers who have travelled on the recently acquired Learjet. The decision to purchase this new jet has been completely justified, despite criticism from some quarters."
Mr. Smith continued: "I wish to again express my appreciation to all the personnel of the Air Corps for their operation of the service which contributed greatly to the successful conduct of Ireland's Presidency."
