President Michael D Higgins cost the taxpayer almost €8,000 to travel by helicopter on official
business.
Records received by the Irish Mirror show that the President travelled to Kenmare GAA club and St Flannan’s College in Ennis, his old alma mater by helicopter in May. It is also understood that the presidential cars driven by Garda drivers were on the ground to meet the President and his travelling party at each location to transport them to official functions.
President Higgins could have availed of a commercial flight to Kerry Airport and travelled on the short distance to Kenmare by road. According to Ryanair’s website last night, a one way flight from Dublin to Kerry would cost €16, while the 48kms car journey from the airport would take 38 minutes.
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The distance between Kenmare and Ennis is 179 kms and would take two hours and 35 minutes by car. The cost of putting the Government’s Ministerial Air Transport Service (MATS) Agusta AW139 in the air is €3,990 an hour and it flew the President for a total of 120 minutes on May 27 and 28 when he travelled to Kerry and Clare.
The figures were obtained from the Department of Defence, which runs the MATS, through Freedom of Information. All travel using MATS must be cleared by the Department of the Taoiseach.
The President was criticised previously when he travelled to Belfast in October 2018 on the MATS Learjet 45. On that occasion the Office of the President said MATS had been used because of “security concerns”.
While the President is not subject to the same restrictions as Government ministers in relation to the use of MATS, it is understood that there is an unwritten rule that ministers should not use it for domestic travel. A senior minister in the last government from 2016 to 2020 told the Mirror: “It was a total no-go to use the government jet or helicopter for any travel in the Republic.
“You wouldn’t even ask. I certainly wouldn’t have dared and I don’t remember anyone else doing it either. We were very aware of how it would look to the public and previous ministers in older governments had got stung badly, and rightly, for this sort of carry-on.”
A serving government minister added: “It’s a no-go, simple as that. Where is there in Ireland, on the mainland, that you can’t get to anyway?”
The President’s spokesman told the Irish Mirror: “On the dates in question, the President and Sabina, on Friday 27 May, following an invitation opened the first two public
parks in Kenmare, Co. Kerry. On the following morning, Saturday 28 May, the President and Sabina visited the offices of Samaritans Clare in Ennis to commend them on their work and to celebrate their 40th anniversary.”
After further questions were submitted, he added: “Arrangements surrounding the President’s cars are a matter for An Garda Siochana. The Office of the President followed normal protocols under Ministerial Travel with the Department of the Taoiseach.”
A spokesman for the Department of the Taoiseach said: “Ministerial Air Transport Service Applications should be submitted to the Taoiseach in respect of every mission, including the destination, route, timings, passenger details and purpose of travel. The justifying need to use the service should be set out in every application.”
A Garda spokesman said: “An Garda Siochana does not comment on any matters related to personal security of any individual.” The popular President previously said "everything will change" due to the coronavirus crisis.
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