Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The Gulfstream IV entered MATS service in 1991 and has accumulated an average of 660 flying hours a year since then. It is maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended overhaul and maintenance cycle. This is a practice common to all Air Corps aircraft, both fixed wing and rotary wing. Requisite inspections and checks are carried out at various specified intervals, depending on the flying hours accumulated, as set out in the Air Corps approved maintenance programme for the aircraft, which incorporates all of the manufacturer's recommended maintenance activities. In addition to the maintenance procedures carried out by Air Corps technical personnel at Baldonnel, the Gulfstream IV undergoes a full annual maintenance inspection at Gulfstream's maintenance facility in the United States.

The Gulfstream IV commenced its 2008 annual scheduled maintenance inspection and service in the United States in mid-July. The 2008 maintenance requirement was quite extensive in that the airframe was due its 72-month inspection, the undercarriage was due a 9,000 landings check and the cabin management system was due major mandatory modifications. The aircraft also underwent water pipe work reconditioning and an extensive inspection of the interior. Essential repairs to the interior which had not been renovated since the aircraft was first acquired 17 years ago were also undertaken. The extent of this work led to increased downtime of the Gulfstream IV which returned to operational service earlier this month. The total cost of this maintenance is approximately €1.8 million. In regard to the interior refurbishment, the work included the recovering of the cabin seats; restoration work on the seat-belts; the replacement of carpets; and refinishing of cabin ledges, console tables and the conference table which had become damaged and worn during the years. The cost of this aspect of the maintenance programme is approximately €426,000. I have been informed that Gulfstream IV interiors are normally replaced every five to seven years and that this interior work was long overdue.

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