Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 5: To ask the Taoiseach the procedures in place in his Department in respect of the use of the Government jet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48405/09]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 6: To ask the Taoiseach the number of occasions during 2009 on which sanction was granted by his Department for use by Ministers or Ministers of State of the use of Air Corps aircraft; the number of occasions when such requests were rejected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3182/10]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 7: To ask the Taoiseach the criteria set down by his Department for use of the Government jet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3462/10]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 7, inclusive, together.

Procedurally, requests for use of this service are made by Ministers' private secretaries to my office and are dealt with, in the first instance, by the staff of my office. Requests are examined by my staff with regard to the need for and purpose of travel, the destination and other logistical details. Any necessary clarification or further information is sought at this point. All screened requests are then submitted to me for consideration and approval, if deemed appropriate. Once approved, all operational matters are settled directly between the office of the relevant Minister and the Department of Defence or the Air Corps.

In 2009, I approved 105 requests for use by Ministers or Ministers of State of Air Corps aircraft. I have considered the requests submitted to me since I became Taoiseach to be appropriate and have approved them. All applications for use of such services are considered in the context of the demands of official duties with due regard to costs and efficiencies.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Taoiseach for clarifying that the Government jet moves on his authorisation. Will he clarify the position with regard to what happened on Sunday, 3 February 2008, when the Government jet was in the United States as a result of a visit there by the Minister for Health and Children? On that date the Minister and her husband had a private day, to which both are entitled. The Minister attended the Super Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona, that evening and stayed in the city of Prescott, which is approximately 100 miles from Phoenix. For some inexplicable reason - perhaps there is a reason - the Government jet flew from Phoenix to Las Vegas, Nevada, and remained there overnight. We are informed that no one other than Air Corps personnel were on board at the time. On the following day, the jet flew back to Phoenix to collect the Minister and her party. I understand a case was put forward that this was due to meteorological conditions. Yet a map indicates that Tucson, Arizona and San Diego, California are closer than or as close as Las Vegas. If a request for movement of the Government jet comes before the staff of the Taoiseach's office and clarification must be sought by him, can the Taoiseach explain the reason the Government jet flew from Phoenix, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada and stayed overnight if there were no personnel on board?

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy is going into detail that may be more appropriate to the Department.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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This is about authorisation for flying the Government jet at €7,100 an hour. Was clarification given to the Taoiseach for that movement of the jet and did he authorise it?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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My function is simply to approve the use of the service. If Deputy Kenny wishes to have detailed records of any flights undertaken I understand they are maintained by the Department of Defence and that question should be tabled specifically to that Department.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Taoiseach for his comment that his function is to give authorisation for use of the service. The service was used from Phoenix, Arizona to Las Vegas. If the Taoiseach's function is to give authorisation for the use of the service, was he asked for that authorisation and did he give it?

The meteorological records from the US National Agricultural Statistics Service provide a national weather summary for the period from February 3 to 9 2008. It shows that in Arizona on February 3 and 4 2008 snowfall totals were as high as 27 inches in a place called Happy Jack - I do not know where that is.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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On Father Ted.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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In any event, I am anxious to find out from the Taoiseach whether he was asked for authorisation for the use of this service to move the Gulfstream jet from Phoenix, Arizona to Las Vegas overnight. What was the purpose of that movement? Did the Taoiseach authorise it? We know from records that the jet flew from Las Vegas to Phoenix the following day to pick up the Minister for Health and Children who had travelled from Prescott to Phoenix by limousine at a cost of more than €500. As I stated, the Minister was entitled to her private day with her husband. Has the Taoiseach been informed of the reason for the movement of the jet from Phoenix to Las Vegas? Why was it requested? Was he told about it and did he authorise it?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I authorise the provision of the aircraft for the purpose of ministerial visits to a country. I do not deal with operational matters that occur when people get there. If the Deputy has any questions on operational matters a phone call to the Department of Defence will get him the answer rather than looking up the Internet.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I have a question on operational matters. In another incident, for some reason the same jet flew to Kingston, Jamaica with a previous Taoiseach.

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy is getting bogged down in detail.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Taoiseach stated in his reply that when a request for movement of the jet comes in it is dealt with initially by his staff. Thereafter, the clearance is to be given by the Taoiseach. In answer to a supplementary question, he stated his job in this regard is to authorise use of the service. He has now asked me whether I have a question on operational matters and I do. What was the purpose of moving the Government jet from Phoenix, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada? The newspaper reports from the time indicated that only Air Corp personnel were on board. Why was it necessary to move the jet from Phoenix, Arizona to Las Vegas? Was the Taoiseach, as the person who must give authorisation for the use of the service, consulted about this and did he authorise it? If he was not asked or did not authorise it, can we get from him or his office a follow up response as to why the jet travelled to Las Vegas and back to Phoenix?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am trying to figure out where Deputy Kenny is coming from in all of this.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Phoenix, Arizona.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Happy Jack.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I was appointed Taoiseach on 7 May 2008. Deputy Kenny referred to a flight that took place on 3 February 2008. I had no involvement in the matter. That is the first point.

The second point is that in my reply to Deputy Kenny I said that any Taoiseach of the day provides the authorisation to use the Government jet for ministerial visits abroad. As Deputy Kenny knows ministerial air transport services are needed for the proper conduct of Government business. When the Deputy raised a query about a technical issue that arose while Air Corps personnel went from one airport to another, I made the point that operational matters and details have to be taken up with the Department of Defence. The Taoiseach is not involved in any change of arrangements that take place for whatever technical reasons that arise on flights. If Deputy Kenny does not know that, he should know it. It is absurd to indicate that people would have to ring my office at 3 a.m. to find out whether they can move from one airport to another. That does not happen. Decisions and operational responsibilities are taken by the flight personnel themselves. Answers to any queries on the matter can be directly obtained from the Department of Defence. For the record, I did not hold the office of Taoiseach at the time but that is not to say any issue arises either.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I accept that point. The Taoiseach is also now the acting Minister for Defence. He can take it that I will ask him, as Minister for Defence, to find out how and why this happened. I accept he was not Taoiseach at that stage but on an operational matter this jet did move from city to city.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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As I explained, nor would the Taoiseach of the day have been involved in that issue.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Yes, but the Minister for Defence is the person who has the record. As the Taoiseach is now the Minister for Defence, I ask him that question. We will see how he responds to it.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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No problem. I will get the file.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I heard the Taoiseach's reply to Deputy Kenny and I understand from it that there was no request for approval of a flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Las Vegas and that no such approval was granted.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Gilmore cannot take that as being the case.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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But that is what I heard.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Gilmore did not hear that.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Which is it then?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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That is what I am saying-----

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Was it approved or not?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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It is very simple. As I have explained and as Deputy Gilmore is aware, the Taoiseach of the day authorises the use of the jet. When the jet takes off from Baldonnel on its ministerial visit or other trip, the decisions on whatever technical issues or operational details that arise are taken by the flight personnel themselves. The Department of Defence holds the records and if people have any queries on those records they put the question to the Department of Defence. No Taoiseach of the day is involved in clearance of the subsequent details that arose. The question that arises in the first instance is the authorisation by the Taoiseach of the use of the Government jet for the trip to America.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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To Phoenix.

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Thereafter, whatever arises is dealt with by the Department of Defence. That is what I am saying.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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It is not a case that when the jet is out of Irish airspace it is free to go where it likes. Presumably, there is a procedure in place for when a Minister who has been approved for, let us say, a flight from Dublin to Madrid on Government business then decides he has to fly to Rome on Government business. What is the procedure? Is the Minister free to go on the flight from Madrid to Rome or is he required to seek additional approval from the Taoiseach's office for the second flight? It would be helpful if we knew that.

I also wish to ask the Taoiseach about his visit to Copenhagen for the climate change summit. There was a report in the Irish Independent that the Government jet had to make two return trips to bring him to and from that event. Apparently, when the Government jet got to Copenhagen to bring the Taoiseach to the climate change conference it could not find anywhere to park and it had to come home and go out again to bring him back. That was a total of four flights when there otherwise might have been two. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, who is seated beside the Taoiseach, will be interested in this issue. I understand it is Government policy that there will be a carbon off-set for the use of the Government jet. Will the Taoiseach confirm whether the jet had to do a double run to bring the Taoiseach to and from Copenhagen? If so, has the carbon impact of that been calculated?

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are getting far away from Arizona.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I understand the impact of the use of the jet is to be made up by way of growing trees in urban areas. In which town can we find the urban forest that compensates for the double trip to Copenhagen?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Gilmore is in a facetious mood today whatever is wrong with him. The decision to return to Baldonnel Aerodrome before travelling back to Copenhagen was made by the Air Corps for operational reasons. The Copenhagen Airport authority advised the Air Corps that due the large number of aircraft expected for the summit, the GIV jet could not overnight in Copenhagen. Having regard to this, the Air Corps received permission to return to Baldonnel on 17 December and reposition to Copenhagen on 18 December to complete the mission. This was done in order to facilitate essential pilot training and for reasons of operational expediency.

All Government flights are taken into account in regard to carbon off-sets and I am sure this particular flight will be included in that.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Will the Taoiseach respond to the first part of my question? If, for example, a Minister has permission to go to Madrid by Government jet but then has to travel on to Rome, would he or she have to apply for a second clearance from the Department of the Taoiseach?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I will have to check with my office what the technical arrangements would be in that case. Ministers who have use of the jet are on official business and that is fine. However, I will have to check the details of the hypothetical scenario set out by the Deputy.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I accept there will be times where the schedules and responsibilities of the Taoiseach or a Minister will not coincide with the schedules of commercial flights. Rather than going over what has already been said, I have a simple question. Has any cost analysis been done in respect of the possibility of chartering a jet in order to meet the occasional need for travel beyond what the commercial schedules will accommodate? Is there a cost saving involved in using commercial flights in the main and chartering a jet only when required rather than having to maintain a dedicated aircraft? It is reasonable to assume there might be. If such a cost analysis has not been carried out, will the Taoiseach undertake to ensure it is done so that we may be better informed as to what savings might be achieved?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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As I said, there is a requirement for a ministerial air transport service. There is an ongoing requirement for the Government and the President to maintain active economic, political and cultural relations with countries not only in Europe but across the globe. We regularly have to participate in international discussions and negotiations with bodies such as the European Union and the United Nations. Fulfilling those international obligations necessarily involves substantial air travel by members of Government and the President. The travel arrangements required cannot always be met by commercial airline companies, which is why we need the service we have. It provides the Government and the President with an independent, flexible and effective air transport service that helps us to meet our international obligations.

Maintaining a dedicated aircraft has several advantages over a reliance on commercial air travel. The service is more flexible in that it is not tied to set routes, timetables or schedules. For example, where European Union meetings end up taking longer than expected, it is vital that departure times can be altered as required at short notice. The service helps Ministers to fulfil all their duties both at home and abroad to the greatest extent possible and to carry out those duties with the maximum efficiency having regard to increasingly busy portfolios and the availability of the service for special tasks. In times of crisis it ensures independence of movement for those who require it. In short, it is a matter of recognising that the commercial airline industry does not provide sufficiently for the workings of modern government in any country. This service is necessary to ensure people can attend to their duties and do their business on behalf of the country and can return as quickly as possible once those duties are fulfilled.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Taoiseach undertake to perform a cost analysis in this regard?

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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As for a cost analysis, one instance pertains to the loss of days and times, as well as the overnight stays that would be involved in being obliged to stay overnight in other locations, rather than getting back to fulfil duties at home. The commercial airline industry does not fulfil all the requirements for a flexible and efficient service with which Ministers can do their jobs, both at home and abroad, as one would expect them to.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It might be an exercise worth doing.