State spends over €70k on opening ceremony for EU presidency

The opening ceremony of Ireland's EU presidency at Dublin Castle last month. Ireland will hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months, which will see the country host hundreds of EU meetings as well as visits by EU leaders. Photo: Niall Carson

More than €70,000 was spent on the opening ceremony for Ireland’s EU presidency including a "high-end" canapé reception and a hefty drinks bill of more than €8,600.

The Department of Foreign Affairs purchased 192 bottles of Italian wine for the high-profile event at Dublin Castle.

A Mainente Vigna Cengelle Soave white cost €45 per bottle while the price for a Torre Raone Lucanto Montepulciano d’Abruzzo red was almost €47.

Food for a "high-end canapé reception" for 450 people cost almost €11,750, according to records released under Freedom of Information.

The hire of white cloths on the instructions of a senior Office of Public Works official cost around €1,600 with a further €369 spent on having them delivered.

There was a bill of around €900 for “white table frills” while a “last-minute” request for furniture delivery incurred €369 in costs. Altogether, the catering bill with Egan Hospitality came to just under €34,000 for the official launch on July 1.

Other costs on the tab included canapés and refreshments at the State Apartments, costing around €3,000. There was also a bill of roughly €2,300 to feed staff of the department as well as performers and a choir for the event.

A separate amount of €7,353 was spent on catering for media who attended the opening, the records showed. Other costs included €14,415 for buses from Leinster House and the department’s HQ to Dublin Castle and back.

A bill of around €5,000 was run up for car transport for “high-level guests” while around €6,000 was spent on platinum VIP services at Dublin Airport.

The bus arrangements included 53-seater coaches for members of the diplomatic corps and the Oireachtas as well as 16-seater Mercedes minibuses for ministers and ministers of state.

Two chauffeur-driven vehicles used for European Council president António Costa cost just over €2,000, while transport arrangements for the Ukrainian delegation came to €2,900.

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The 600 gold-foiled invitations with a harp cost €775 with €150 paid to post them to other EU member states and Northern Ireland. There was a bill of €3,700 to print event booklets and cue cards, the invoices showed.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ireland will hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union for six months, which will see the country host hundreds of EU meetings as well as visits by EU leaders.