Taxpayers charged €4 for Ryan’s ride along the Seine

WITH every cent counting in these recessionary times, perhaps taxpayers will not begrudge being charged for Energy Minister Eamon Ryan’s Parisian bike ride — all e4 worth of it.

Whilst some might say Mr Ryan’s thoroughness in getting the state to pay for his cycle by the Seine may seem a tad mean, others will applaud his pedal power panache, in light of the casual way some cabinet colleagues think nothing of splurging e8,000 an hour on the Government jet.

The Green eco-warrior took to the saddle as part of the Great St Patrick’s Day Ministerial Race to get as far around the globe as possible at the taxpayers’ expense — all in the selfless good cause of forcing foreigners to think kindly of the Emerald Isle.