Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The ministerial air transport service, MATS, provides the Government and the President with an independent flexible and effective air transport service to assist in meeting national and international obligations. The service is primarily provided by the Gulfstream IV and Learjet 45 aircraft, which were specifically acquired for that purpose. The Gulfstream IV was acquired in December 1991 and has accumulated more than 12,000 flying hours to date. The Learjet entered service in January 2004 and has accumulated more than 2,000 flying hours to date. The Learjet 45 was purchased as a replacement for the Beechcraft Super King Air, which continued to be used until January 2009 as a backup aircraft for the MATS, in addition to its primary role as a pilot training aircraft. However, it is no longer available for ministerial air transport or any other taskings and there is effectively no fixed-wing back up to the dedicated MATS aircraft.

The Learjet 45 has the capacity to carry seven passengers and is tasked with short and medium-haul missions to the United Kingdom and Europe. The Gulfstream IV has the capacity to carry 14 passengers and can be tasked with long-haul missions to destinations such as the United States, Africa and the Middle East, as well as to European destinations. All requests for ministerial air transport are subject to the authorisation of the Taoiseach, taking into account several factors. These include the necessity to undertake the engagement, the amount of notice received, the demands of the particular schedule, the availability and suitability of other travel arrangements, overall cost considerations, the numbers in the delegation and security considerations. The stringent criteria which have always applied ensure that only justified travel is undertaken on MATS and this continues to be the case. The demand for ministerial air transport, allied with the advantages it provides, continues to justify the requirement for a service provided by two aircraft.

To date in 2009, more than 100 missions have been completed, including missions to the United States, South America, the Middle East and Chad on the Gulfstream IV, as well as missions to Egypt and Sudan on the Learjet, along with missions to the United Kingdom and Europe. The Gulfstream IV and Learjet 45 aircraft also perform a range of non-MATS taskings, such as humanitarian, air ambulance and military transport missions. There are no plans at present to dispose of the Gulfstream IV or the Learjet 45 and any future decision in this regard is a matter for the Government.

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