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In the current economic climate all the actions of our political leaders are closely monitored by the press keen to point out waste or extravagance. There is an almost fanatical interest and indeed an obsession with the Air Corps MATS aircraft, the Gulfstream IV and the Learjet 45. This is based on the published hourly costs of these aircraft, which takes into account the actual cost of acquiring them. Paradoxically the more they are used the more value they provide to the taxpayer. The press is however fickle. On 26th November, President McAleese visited Gaelscoil na Dúglaise in Cork on the occasion of its 25th anniversary before attending four other engagements in the city. Wisely she opted to travel with Ryanair that morning and returned with them again that evening. Her husband, Martin, two special branch minders and a military aide accompanied her on the trip, and in all likelihood the total cost for her flights would have been around €500. Using the Department of Defence hourly costing a return journey from Dublin to Cork on the Gulfstream would have cost €13,150 while the same trip on the Learjet or on an AW139 helicopter would have cost €4,916 or €5,216. However, while she saved on the fare, she didn’t have to enjoy the dubious joys of the Ryanair experience: queues, bag limits and the rush for seats or indeed the walk to the aircraft. An eyewitness on board the Ryanair flight told the Irish Mail on Sunday: “The President was brought to the plane in one of her official limousines. The car was driven onto the tarmac and she and her entourage boarded the plane from the front while the rest of us were made to get on the plane through the back door. When we got to Cork she was met by another car and driven away”. The press loved it, revelling in the fact that the President readily accepted that cutbacks even apply to her in these austere times describing her as “Ireland's low-fares President”. However it was a different story when the Belfast Telegraph revealed that she had used Air Corps MATS aircraft twice during November. On 14th November, after attending the Royal British Legion Annual Remembrance Service in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, which commenced at 15:15, she flew to Belfast to present RTÉ/Co-operation Ireland School Choir of the Year Competition awards in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast an event that started at 18:30. On 23rd November, she officially opened the newly completed St Dominic's Grammar School on the Falls Road in Belfast flying again to Belfast for the event, which commenced at 10:00. She attended two other engagements in Belfast before returning to Dublin. A garda car dropped the President to the airport on both occasions, while another collected her in Belfast. In addition to the adverse press comment, opposition politicians also jumped on the bandwagon. Looking at the trips objectively, the President sought to maximise her time, minimise her travel time and use the best combination of resources to achieve it, having regard to her status and security and safety considerations.