Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The report's level of ambition option 3 states, "As part of a national Air Defence Plan, the Air Corps would develop an air combat and intercept capability through the acquisition of a squadron of jet combat aircraft". This is total madness. A squadron is made up of between 12 and 24 aircraft. The average procurement cost of a single fighter aircraft in the NATO area is €99 million. The average cost to maintain and operate such an aircraft for a year is €8.8 million. What could you buy with that kind of money if you prioritised real priorities? You could build 8,000 houses for the price of a 16-strong squadron, if the houses cost €200,000 each to build. You could provide more than 4,000 hospital beds at a cost of €375,000 each. You could hire an extra 3,500 nurses. For the price of just three aircraft, you could abolish all third level fees. What is the price for our environment?

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