The Department of Defence told the Air Corps that “all confidence” in the government’s €8 million government Learjet was gone and that it needed to be taken out of service full time.
In a furious email, Department of Defence Secretary General Jacqui McCrum said the aircraft had yet again let them down after Minister Simon Harris arrived at Baldonnel for a scheduled flight to Belgium only to be told he couldn’t fly.
In a message to the Defence Forces Chief of Staff Seán Clancy, she wrote: “As discussed, all confidence in the Lear is gone. I know that [staff member] was speaking to [Air Corps] about the retirement of same and that a report is to be [or is] being prepared.
“I will await your comments, but in my view, it has to be taken out of service full time now. We cannot provide an appropriate [government transport] service with it, and we cannot risk ministers missing critical meetings or being stranded.”
The latest controversy began in early December when Higher Education Minister Simon Harris was due to travel on an early-morning flight to Brussels only for the jet to be deemed out of service at the last minute.
An email from an Air Corps officer said: “I informed Minister Harris of the issue in person and outlined some potential timelines based on other aircraft types.
“Based on this, he advised that they would not plan to travel to Brussels today.”
In further messages, the latest failure was described as a tech issue with a battery sensor.
Internal emails also reveal discord over a report that was supposed to have been prepared for Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Micheál Martin on the likely availability of the Learjet over the coming months.
A Department of Defence official said it was his “clear understanding” that such a report had been agreed upon at a meeting in mid-November yet had not been prepared.
An email said: “I would be grateful if the [Air Corps] could be tasked with carrying out such a tasking as a matter of urgency.”
However, the Air Corps could not remember having been asked to carry out the exercise.
Brigadier General Rory O’Connor wrote: “I have to admit, I don’t recollect that being a direct task coming out of the meeting, but I’ll look after that in accordance with the timeline.”
The Department of Defence claimed they had no doubt a report had been requested.
An official wrote: “It is my clear understanding that our discussions did include a reference to the need to consider the future of the Lear as part of an overall report on the flight congruent with the Tánaiste’s expectations.
“Any further correspondence on this point seems somewhat moot to me as you have now confirmed that this report has now been tasked up.”
Asked about the records, the Department of Defence said the records reflected a number of occasions on which the aircraft had been unserviceable but that discussions remained ongoing on the future of the Learjet, which is currently in the UK for further maintenance work.
A spokeswoman said: “Following the Tánaiste’s instruction to the Department of Defence to proceed with the procurement of a new government jet, a competitive bidding process commenced.
“Given that considerable time is required before a replacement aircraft is delivered and made available for operations, it is not possible to provide a date that the replacement aircraft will enter service as this will depend on the capacity of the manufacturer and production schedule.”
