St Patrick’s Day trips cost €200k

THE exodus of ministers for St Patrick’s day cost the taxpayer more than €200,000 this year as Cabinet members, their spouses and advisors, splashed out on expensive hotels, car hire and business class flights.

Despite orders from the Taoiseach to cut down on costs, Brian Cowen’s constituency colleague and junior health minister John Moloney ran up a bill of €1,950 for car hire and taxis in just three days in Scotland.

And while first-class travel was banned on an order from the Taoiseach, ministers took expensive and business class flights, including a €5,103 fare for Green Party Minister Eamon Ryan, to travel to India, a €5,500 fare for Batt O’Keeffe’s flight to Japan and €6,666 for flights to China by junior housing minister Michael Finneran.

Junior Minister Billy Kelleher, who travelled to Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra in Australia, ran up a bill of more than €16,000 on flights and €4,414 on hotels.

Although he promised to reduce the cost of the annual jaunts, Mr Cowen spent significantly more than his predecessor, Bertie Ahern, on the traditional visit to the White House.

His trip, which also took in engagements in Chicago and San Jose, cost almost €22,000, including €9,000 on hotel rooms.

This does not include travel costs by his delegation, which uses the Government jet to get around at a cost of around €7,100 an hour.

Announcing the programme for visits last month, Mr Cowen said: “Unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, first-class flights, limousines, hotel suites and VIP lounges will not be used by ministers.”

But figures show his trip cost at least €4,000 more than Mr Ahern’s final trip as Taoiseach in 2008, according to figures obtained from the Government by Fine Gael’s Jim O’Keeffe.

Mr Cowen and his delegation spent €6,612 on car hire – more than three times the sum spent by Bertie Ahern in 2008, and €2,523 on photography – double that of the previous administration.

The cost of Mr Cowen’s trip fades into insignificance compared with the €34,000 it cost the taxpayer to send Health Minister Mary Harney to New Zealand.

Flights for Ms Harney, her husband Brian Geoghegan and three officials amounted to €20,000 while hotels for the 13 days cost €5,165.

As the crisis over missing X-rays at Tallaght Hospital emerged back home, Ms Harney ran up an expenses bill of €5,726 as well as hosting a dinner of eight people for €665 and providing gifts at a cost of €380.

Batt O’Keeffe, who was education minister at the time, used business class flights to Japan and Korea for himself, his wife and two officials at a cost of €5,514 each.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, who was then Enterprise Minister, used the second Government jet, the Lear jet, for her trip to Germany and spent €669 on internal flights for herself and two officials and €1,296 on hotel rooms.

Ten Cabinet ministers, 11 junior ministers, the Taoiseach and the Attorney General travelled abroad this year to represent Ireland with a strong focus on trade, investment and tourism.