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  • Compare and contrast.

    Exam Question

    Using the article below from the Irish Times 05/02/03 and the S92 affair of 2002, compare and contrast the Irish Government's attitude to the acquisition of an executive jet compared to medium lift helicopters.
    Bonus marks will be awarded for answers As Gaeilge .

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    Ministers to discuss options on securing new Government jet



    The Cabinet has taken a major step towards having a new Government jet by the end of this year, after Ministers agreed yesterday to discuss purchase and leasing options, writes Mark Brennock, Political Correspondent.

    Yesterday's Cabinet meeting set up an interdepartmental group to report on the options within two weeks. The group, comprising representatives of the Departments of the Taoiseach, Defence and Finance, will report on the size of jet required, and the advisability of either leasing or buying a new aircraft.

    Government sources said yesterday that it could cost some €50 million to purchase a suitable jet outright, while a leasing deal could cost €3 million to €4 million per year. The Cabinet will discuss the options in two weeks' time.

    Yesterday's move follows a series of breakdowns of the Government's 12-year-old Gulfstream IV jet. The aircraft broke down on the eve of the Taoiseach's trip to Prague last week; as he prepared to return home from Mexico last month; and as the Minister for Communications, Mr Ahern, prepared to travel to Brussels last year. It also broke down in 2001, resulting in the Taoiseach missing a scheduled meeting in New York with the United Nations Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan.

    The Government has sought to gain maximum publicity for these breakdowns, leading to a belief that they were attempting to condition public opinion to accept the politically sensitive move of getting a new aircraft.

    One Fianna Fáil deputy, Mr Jim Glennon, last week described the jet as a source of "extreme embarrassment for our leader and the nation".

    However, Department of Defence sources say the Gulfstream is not particularly old, nor does it have particularly high flying hours for an aircraft of its type. Nevertheless, with a 14-seat capacity it is seen as small, as many ministerial delegations to EU and other meetings are larger than this.

    An immediate purchase appears unlikely due to the timescale in which the Taoiseach wants the new aircraft in place. Mr Ahern is anxious to replace the existing one before Ireland's presidency of the European Council of Ministers begins on January 1st next.

    However, under EU rules, a purchase would necessitate a tendering process that would unlikely be completed in time.

    Therefore, an initial decision to lease an aircraft, followed by a possible purchase at a later stage, appears the most likely outcome.

  • #2
    Well its a while since I done maths..and I never done economics..but...
    If it costs €50m to buy a jet..and the last two only lasted 12 years...€50m divided by 12= €4.16m, and leasing is going to cost €3m to €4m a year...then it SHOULD be obvious to any idiot(except the finance minister) that leasing is the cheaper option. That said..the previous 2 government jets were preceded by Leased Jets.

    I wonder how much it would cost to lease a few F15E's... Just till Bush wipes out the "axis of evil" of course..after then there would be all those years of peace before the end of the world that Nostradamus predicted...

    Speaking of the S92 farce...remember they re advertised the Tender ...is that still active? Or will berties penis extension be the priority purchase for the remainder of their time in government?


    Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

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    • #3
      read the white paper, then there is a clause stating that no new funding for a government jet will come from the defence vote.

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      • #4
        Mayby Paul, but all policys are subject to change depending on the honesty? of the politicans.:D :D :D
        "We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey"
        Radio transmission, siege of Jadotville DR Congo. September 1961.
        Illegitimi non carborundum

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