Gifts for dignitaries cost just €1,700
The most expensive gift went to UK foreign secretary William Hague, in the form of a €180 framed ‘fáilte’ ogham stone, while a delegation of five from Abu Dhabi received the cheapest gifts, a €6 keyring each.
Gifts mainly comprised of stationery, bowls, and art prints, though Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore gave a €135 chess set to Chinese vice president Xi Jinping.
Three times during the past two years, the department gave cufflinks to Arab dignitaries. The department confirmed junior minister Jan O’Sullivan presented a set of €34 cufflinks to the half brother of Osama bin Laden, Bakr Bin Mohammed bin Laden, chairman of the largest building firm in the world, the Saudi Binladin Group. She gave the same gift to Khalid Abdullah Almolhem, director general of Saudi Airlines, on her visit to the country and Qatar in 2011.
Abu Dhabi minister of state Anwar Gargash also received a Celtic warrior wallet and cufflink combination, valued at €40.
A spokeswoman for the department said a modest approach was adopted. “The choice of gift is generally decided in consultation between protocol, the relevant minister’s office and the relevant policy division, to ensure the gift selected respects the culture of the recipient and complies with any budgetary and ethics requirements.”
