The government ruled out buying a second-hand executive jet to fly the President, Taoiseach, and ministers around the world saying it was too hard to get a good deal on a used plane.
In a business case supporting the purchase of a €53 million Dassault Falcon 6X jet, officials said buying it would actually save the taxpayer money through its occasional use as an air ambulance and for emergency evacuations.
It said the new jet would also save €500,000 if ministers and officials did not have to wait in queues for commercial airlines.
A further €17.8 million would be clawed back through the “enhanced time period available for work on a private flight relative to [a regular journey].”
It said one of the biggest savings would come from not having to charter private jets, which the Department of Defence believed could cost upwards of €41 million over the coming years.
Overall, the business case said the benefits of buying a brand-new executive jet would come to €113 million – more than double the actual purchase price.
The document was prepared in advance of the purchase saying the government’s existing Learjet had a “deteriorated condition”.
It said: “Owing to serviceability issues, the Learjet is no longer capable of providing [a ministerial transport service], further underlining the urgency of the requirement for a replacement aircraft.”
The business case said a reliable plane would be essential especially during Ireland’s Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2026.
The document said: “Connectivity via scheduled commercial flights to and from Ireland has improved overall … nonetheless, commercial flight options are by nature limited and subject to seasonal influences or availability.”
It put forward a number of options which included buying a new ‘mid-size’ or ‘super mid-size’ jet or getting a second-hand model of either type.
Also mooted was leasing a plane on an ongoing basis, but the chosen option was purchase of a brand new ‘mid-size’.
It did say however, that “the cheapest and most economic option” was to look at a second-hand plane.
However, efforts to find something suitable – and less than five years old – failed, according to the business case.
It said: “As aircraft are typically purchased new and not disposed of for a number of years it was held to be unusual for an aircraft less than three to five years old to be available on the market unless it was part of a distressed asset sale.”
A separate analysis conducted for the department found that the second-hand market was in a depressed state with demand far outstripping supply.
It said one of the biggest problems would be that when a used jet was put up for sale, it was often bought within one hundred days.
“These market conditions were and are viewed to create a challenge for any government, constrained by the legal and regulatory environment of public procurement rules,” the business case explained.
It said efforts had continued to see if the government could pick up a bargain.
The document said: “The project team did continue to monitor the possibility of obtaining a higher capability aircraft second hand for a cost from other governments, that is similar or slightly above what a smaller less capable new aircraft could cost, with no success.”
Asked about the records, a spokesman for the Department of Defence said the new jet would be used for a variety of tasks including evacuations of Irish citizens from “critical situations”, air ambulance duties, medical evacuations, and transport of supplies.
He added: “It will also provide an independent transport service for government, an increasingly essential requirement in meeting international obligations.”