Coveney to probe cost of photos

AGRICULTURE Minister Simon Coveney is to investigate why more than €6,700 of taxpayers’ money was spent on a three-day photoshoot at the National Ploughing Championships.

The photographs, taken by Fennell Photography, capture Mr Coveney and junior agriculture minister Shane McEntee in a variety of poses throughout the three-day event, including Mr Coveney in wellies, Mr Coveney wearing a chef’s hat while cooking, and the minister posing with a variety of food produce exhibited at the various stalls. Some of the images are posted on the department’s website.

When asked on the eve of what promises to be a punishing budget why it was necessary to spend so much department funding on publicity, Mr Coveney said: “The honest answer is I don’t have all the details. It does seem like a lot was spent and I am a little bit taken aback. Obviously, we need to make sure that any money spent on PR or photography represents value for money and if, when I follow it up, it turns out that we overspent, it won’t happen again.”

Mr Coveney was at pains to point out that the ploughing championships are the most important event of the year for the agriculture and agri-food sector and that, as “the political face and voice” of that sector, it was his job to “tell that story, be it through photographs or interviews”.

“In terms of profile raising for the agri-food sector, it’s the biggest event of the year and lots of the bodies represented at it wanted pictures taken and for those pictures to be sent on to them. Having said that, I intend to follow up. I wouldn’t like the impression to go out that we spend money as if it was easily found, but I would defend some spend on publicity at an event like that.”

Mr Coveney said his department was acutely aware of the need for cost-saving and had saved €14 million in the estimates through reduced administration costs. He said the agri-food sector had earned €1 billion extra this year in exports. The three-day photoshoot at the championships in Athy cost €6,762. Mr Coveney said he hadn’t signed off on it, but that “wouldn’t be usual” given the high level of events that he attends.

“I don’t sign off on all expenditure in the department but I do have responsibility for expenditure and I have no problem sitting down and seeing why the photographs at the ploughing championships cost what they did and if it could have been done for less.”