THIRTY Air Corps pilots have shared bonuses of almost €4.3m as part of a scheme to keep them from taking jobs in the private sector.

The 30 pilots have each earned around €143,000 on top of their annual salaries since 2002, when the loyalty bonanza was introduced.

Twenty two of them will now also be entitled to a lump sum payment of almost €30,000 next year, the Sunday Tribune has learned.

The pilots – whose duties include transporting government ministers on two jets and a number of helicopters – were signed up to the deal to halt poaching by airlines such as Aer Lingus and Ryanair.

At the time that the Service Commitment Scheme was introduced, the Air Corps was frequently losing pilots to the private sector.

However, in recent years as the aviation industry has started to suffer from the global recession, job opportunities have dried up.

The Department of Defence said the scheme had been introduced in 1997 "to assist the retention of senior pilots in key appointments".

"Such financial incentives are not uncommon in defence forces in other countries where similar difficulties have existed in retaining highly qualified personnel."

The Department of Defence said that since 2002, €4.288m had been spent on 30 pilots under the scheme. A further payment will be made next year totalling €658,646 in "terminal payments" to 22 pilots.

The scheme is now under review and is likely to be dropped next year when the pilots received their final payoff.

The department said: "The needs of the Defence Forces, in the context of the prevailing economic climate, will be paramount in determining whether the scheme is to be continued beyond 2010."

Air Corps personnel admitted that the scheme was no longer necessary as the attractions of a state job with a state pension now outweighed offers from the private ­sector.