Troop Rotations to Overseas Missions

[SousaTeuszii]

Hi Guys,
Just seen a tender for the next troop rotation for the Balkans. Does anybody know how much these flights cost?
I cannot find any cost on Defence but I did find costs of over €240,000 to deport 60 people to Nigeria. I can only imagine the cost to fly the troops to Liberia!
Surely the Air Corps could do both of these operations. Could these costs be off set againest getting an airlift capability?
ST

[Irish251]

I would have thought that the cost of a few of these rotations each year versus the costs of acquiring, crewing and funding the operation of one or more equivalent aircraft (Boeing 737 or 767 tend to be used) would make it a doubtful proposition to have the Air Corps undertake it.  The US and UK forces, as you probably know, hire in a good deal of their troop transport capacity from the commercial sector and presumably use their own military transport fleets for more specialised needs.

[SousaTeuszii]

Thats very true but Ireland has no military transport capability of any kind. Are we saying that either we dont need it or that we will still require something or somebody else to do troop rotations?
I just feel it is unlikely that Bertie will buy a transport aircraft that cannot transport troops overseas. i.e. the biggest requirement for one at present.
ST