Ministers count cost of Paddy’s Day trips

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern’s trip to Dallas and Washington for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations cost €51,000, according to details released to the Oireachtas yesterday.

And the eight-day trip to New Zealand by Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Eamon Ó Cuiv cost €36,000 to date.

The information revealing the costs of the annual St Patrick’s Day exodus by ministers was obtained by Fine Gael’s spokesperson on foreign affairs Bernard Allen in response to parliamentary questions.