The Taoiseach defended the Government's decision to acquire a new jet during heated exchanges with Opposition leaders.
"We will have to deal with 4,000 meetings during the Irish EU presidency next year, including over 50 council meetings," said Mr Ahern.
"The Government will find the most cost-effective way of doing this and I look forward to that." He added that no decision had been made on whether to purchase the jet or make lease-purchase arrangements. The National Finance Development Agency, with the experts in the Department of Defence, would consider the matter.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, asked Mr Ahern to justify to the House and the country "the decision to spend in excess of €50 million on the purchase of a new jet at a time of great economic uncertainty and austerity."
It was a time, he said, when primary schools were being run down, accident and emergency wards were dilapidated, the extra gardai promised to fight crime had not arrived, many carers were struggling to cope and cities were grinding to a halt.
"Perhaps the Taoiseach thinks that it was worth it because he and the Government can forget about betraying the people while sitting in leather-lined seats and gilded jacuzzis at 30,000 feet," he added.
"Up there, he will not have to worry about rat-infested school buildings, sick people without hospital beds or the scandal of homelessness which blights our towns and cities.
"This happens while the Taoiseach and Government preach austerity to the rest of us. Is the nation to tighten its belt while the Government wraps a 50 million Charvet shirt around itself ?"
Mr Ahern said that two aircraft were currently used, the Beechcraft, which was over 15 years old and had not been in much use in recent years, and the G4, which was leased for a decade and bought some years ago. The overall cost of the G4, between leasing arrangements and the buy-out cost of €9 million, was over €40 million.
Ireland, he said, would hold the EU presidency next year and 25 countries would be involved in that.
"This is the most globalised country in the world with regard to trade, according to the recent A. T. Kearney globalisation report, and is one of the biggest exporters in the world. Ireland depends on trade and exports, and on travel as a means to talk to our trading partners." Mr Ahern said the Government had considered the best possible means of disposing of the additional aircraft.
"It was decided to dispose of the smaller seven-seat Beechcraft 2001, but the market conditions were not right at the time," he added.
"They are right now because the global situation means that there are thousands of aircraft on the ground."
Mr Kenny said he had never heard so much waffle in his life.
"The Taoiseach justifies this on the grounds of age, landings and the amount of miles. None of these justifications was given by the Minister for Defence this morning in a most arrogant contribution to the nation. He spoke about being practical and pragmatic and about trade missions and the world trade talks."
He added that as a minister he had travelled on a commercial flight to Singapore in 1996.
"Entrepreneurs are not brought on Government jets to trade missions. They go courtesy of Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland, as it was known," he said.
The Labour leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, asked if Mr Ahern was aware that the management at Dublin hospitals must now resort to desperate measures to cut costs.
He said that a confidential memorandum had been circulated by the chief executive of Beaumont Hospital to senior staff stipulating that he was required to cut his costs by 10 per cent, or €20 million.
"His senior staff are engaged in discussions with the EHRA to consider how this money will be saved and the following measures are proposed: the capping of cancer and dialysis treatment, which will place people's lives at risk, the closing down of the night dialysis shift, which will deprive patients of life-saving care, the closure of 35 more beds from April, which is the equivalent of a full ward, and major savings by eliminating the use of certain medical devices, thereby running the risk of increasing the mortality rate after certain treatments," he added.
Mr Ahern said he was aware that under their financial and service arrangements, and in compliance with the terms of the 1996 Act, all hospitals must have ensured by January this year that their service requirements were within their cost allocations for 2003. They had all complied.
He said that over 700 additional beds had been provided and an additional €29 million in funding had been allocated to cancer treatment services. Total additional Government spending in that area was €131 million.
