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.