A MAJOR overhaul of the government jet saw an "overspend" of around €1m last year, documents from the Defence Forces have shown.

The €5m refurbishment of the Gulfstream IV was approved in early 2008 in favour of other more expensive options to lease or purchase a newer jet.

According to documents released by the Defence Forces, the Gulfstream spent over three months in America being overhauled. Two army personnel stayed in Savannah, Georgia, for the duration, visiting every day for progress reports. A briefing document prepared for Major General Dave Ashe of the Air Corps put the estimated cost of the refurbishment at €5m.

"The Gulfstream IV Ministerial Air Transport Service (MATS) aircraft, which entered service in 1991, is due to undergo extensive and expensive maintenance requirements in 2008 and 2009," the document says.

"The two engines are due mid-life inspections, the undercarriage is due a 9,000 landings check, and the cabin management system (CMS) is due major modification.

"These last two maintenance operations will require the removal of the entire interior of the aircraft for access purposes. Given that the interior is that which was installed in 1991, Gulfstream is now extremely concerned that following removal, it will not be suitable for re-installation.

"Our estimate of the costs involved over the two years is in the order of €5m, but with the possibility of significantly more if there are problems with the interior."

A memo from last October prepared at Air Corps headquarters confirmed that major costs were involved and suggested €1.8m has already been spent.

The documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, now disclose exactly how much has been spent on the refurbishment.

The second memo said: "As we agreed earlier this year at strategic management committee level, the Gulfstream IV Ministerial Air Transport aircraft is undergoing remedial works to its cabin interior in addition to its scheduled maintenance activity at the Gulfstream facility in the United States. The work is nearing completion and the aircraft is expected to return to service at the beginning of November. The final invoice for the maintenance visit is expected to be in the region of xxx [blacked out].

"Given the recent fall in the value of the euro against the US dollar, we estimate this will equate to xxx [blacked out] when VAT is taken into account. This year's [budget]... allocates a figure of €800,000 for GIV contract repairs. Therefore, it is anticipated that there will be an overspend in the region of one million euro for this item."

Details of the cost are withheld on the grounds of commercial sensitivity even though Gulfstream was the only company invited to tender for the work. Another memo explains that more information is required as to why that was.

Written by civil servant Jim Blighe, it says: "The justification for limiting this to one supplier needs to be set out on file, especially as the value is above the EU threshold."