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Taxpayer hit for €18m in sale of army helicopters
FOUR Irish Defence Forces helicopters sold to a US company for just over ¤300,000 were later sold on to the Chilean navy for nearly ¤19m, the Sunday Tribune has learned.
The deal represents a potential loss of ¤18m to the Irish taxpayer and comes on the heels of the revelation that Irish army Nissan patrol jeeps had been sold for just one cent.
According to documents on the sale, supplied by the Department of Defence, the four AS365 Dauphin Helicopters, together with tools and spare parts, were sold in October, 2006 for ¤311,000.
The purchaser, Rotor Leasing in Las Vegas, USA, transported them back to the US where they were refitted and repainted before undergoing a series of tests.
The military trade paper Jane's Defence Weekly reported a US$24m (€18.7m) deal signed between the Chilean navy and Rotor Leasing for four Dauphin helicopters, last month. "The Chilean Navy signed for the procurement of four former Irish Air Corps Eurocopter AS365F Dauphin 2 helicopters at the end of August," the publication noted.
"These helicopters are being acquired from a United States dealer – Rotor Leasing – in an agreement valued at US$24 million."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Defence confirmed the resale of the aircraft but said the price they had received from Rotor Leasing was the highest possible.
"They went out to international tender, we received four [tenders] and that was the highest price we could get. We heard that they were sold on; we are not aware of the exact price but we know it was in that region."
According to departmental figures, Rotor Leasing paid just €77,750 per helicopter which were then sold on by Rotor Leasing for approximately €4.6m apiece, although some of this profit margin would have been reduced by the cost of refurbishment.
As previously revealed in the Sunday Tribune, the sale of used vehicles by the Defence Forces over the past 10 years included Nissan Patrol jeeps going for just one cent.
The Dauphin sales were strongly criticised by Fine Gael defence spokesman Jimmy Deenihan who said the matter warranted investigation.
"If it is the case that four helicopters were sold off for €311,000 and then fetched almost €19m there is something wrong and it deserves to be investigated," he said. "That is not acceptable and someone must have made a decision somewhere."
Taxpayer hit for €18m in sale of army helicopters
FOUR Irish Defence Forces helicopters sold to a US company for just over ¤300,000 were later sold on to the Chilean navy for nearly ¤19m, the Sunday Tribune has learned.
The deal represents a potential loss of ¤18m to the Irish taxpayer and comes on the heels of the revelation that Irish army Nissan patrol jeeps had been sold for just one cent.
According to documents on the sale, supplied by the Department of Defence, the four AS365 Dauphin Helicopters, together with tools and spare parts, were sold in October, 2006 for ¤311,000.
The purchaser, Rotor Leasing in Las Vegas, USA, transported them back to the US where they were refitted and repainted before undergoing a series of tests.
The military trade paper Jane's Defence Weekly reported a US$24m (€18.7m) deal signed between the Chilean navy and Rotor Leasing for four Dauphin helicopters, last month. "The Chilean Navy signed for the procurement of four former Irish Air Corps Eurocopter AS365F Dauphin 2 helicopters at the end of August," the publication noted.
"These helicopters are being acquired from a United States dealer – Rotor Leasing – in an agreement valued at US$24 million."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Defence confirmed the resale of the aircraft but said the price they had received from Rotor Leasing was the highest possible.
"They went out to international tender, we received four [tenders] and that was the highest price we could get. We heard that they were sold on; we are not aware of the exact price but we know it was in that region."
According to departmental figures, Rotor Leasing paid just €77,750 per helicopter which were then sold on by Rotor Leasing for approximately €4.6m apiece, although some of this profit margin would have been reduced by the cost of refurbishment.
As previously revealed in the Sunday Tribune, the sale of used vehicles by the Defence Forces over the past 10 years included Nissan Patrol jeeps going for just one cent.
The Dauphin sales were strongly criticised by Fine Gael defence spokesman Jimmy Deenihan who said the matter warranted investigation.
"If it is the case that four helicopters were sold off for €311,000 and then fetched almost €19m there is something wrong and it deserves to be investigated," he said. "That is not acceptable and someone must have made a decision somewhere."
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