Government St Patrick's Day trips tally hits €142,000 — so far

With seven departments yet to report their costs, the steep bill for a Higher Education trip to Australia is attributed to travel restrictions due to war in the Middle East

The Statue of Liberty and buildings in New York City lit up green for St Patrick's Day. The agriculture minister said his department's US trip was combined with a trade mission due to 'time constraints' later this year during Ireland's tenure in the EU presidency. Picture: iStock

The Government’s spend on flights for ministers and their officials to carry out St Patrick’s Day visits abroad has hit at least €142,000 — even before seven departments have revealed their outlay.

For those travelling further afield, the costs were increased by the war in Iran.

At present, the two departments that spent the most on flights were the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Higher Education.

The former spent €45,660 on flights, which covers three visits by its individual ministers. 

Agriculture minister Martin Heydon travelled to the west coast of the US, with stops in Seattle, San Francisco, and Sacramento, with the Kildare South TD travelling alongside three officials and a US-based agricultural attaché.

In a parliamentary question response, Mr Heydon said the St Patrick’s Day trip was combined with a trade mission due to “time constraints later in the year when Ireland holds the EU presidency”.

Of the €45,660 spent, €23,887 was on flights for junior minister Noel Grealish and a departmental official on travel to New Zealand.

The second-highest spending department, the Department of Higher Education, saw €39,390 spent on flights for minister James Lawless and two department officials to Australia. This is a cost of €13,130 per person.

A department source said the high cost of flights was due to logistical issues arising from the war in Iran and closed airspace in the Middle East.

They said the department had initially planned to go via Dubai to Melbourne, but the war required a change in flights. This saw the minister and his staff fly from Dublin to Paris, Paris to Singapore, and then on to Melbourne.

Figures have also been provided by the Department of Housing, where a total of €13,924 was spent on flights for ministers James Browne, Christopher O’Sullivan, and John Cummins.

Mr Browne’s flights to Chicago cost €8,134, including costs for two staff.

Meanwhile, the Department of Finance had flight costs of €12,476, which includes an eight-person delegation to London and Paris, and a three-person delegation to Austin, Texas.

The data was provided to Sinn Féin TD and Public Accounts Committee chair John Brady, following a series of parliamentary questions.

Education trip scrapped amid SNA furore

The costs also include €460.11 spent on cancelled flights, after education minister Hildegarde Naughton pulled out of her visit to South America due to controversy over special needs assistant (SNA) allocations.

The total spend on hotels across six departments is €31,626 currently.

• Tadgh McNally, Political Reporter