Mr. Maurice Quinn:

We have not got into meeting the service. What we have looked at is the nature and extent of the service. For example, we have the Learjet currently. How many of the capitals of the European Union, EU, are beyond the range of the Learjet? What happens if we need to do a transatlantic flight? How many of the forthcoming EU presidencies do not have a direct commercial service from Dublin? We are taking into account the tempo of international business with which the Government is involved and the places one might need to go, as well as the regularity of trips. We also consider other uses of the jet, such as use as an air ambulance. We are looking to capture that scope of usage in order that when we go to the market, we can overlay the various options, from leasing to outright purchase. There are a range of them that we have not got into. We know what they are but we certainly have not got into expressing preferences on them. I have statistics on the use of the jet. The number of ministerial air transport missions has fallen off since the GIV is no longer available. It is between 60 and 70 for the past three years.