Politicians’ junkets - TDs’ foreign trips need to be justified

Backbench members of the Oireachtas spent over €500,000 on fact-finding missions to varied and exotic places on behalf of the Irish taxpayers during 2005, according to figures just released under the Freedom of Information Act.

In addition to the funded travels of ordinary backbench deputies, which cost over €400,000, trips were also undertaken by the Irish Parliamentary Association, which involved seven or eight Dáil deputies and Senators at a time. This year, for instance, eight members of the Oireachtas went to Nairobi, Kenya, for five days.

What was the purpose of the trip? Were they able to learn anything of benefit to the Irish electorate? They were hardly there in connection with our Celtic Tiger economy, because there are no tigers in Africa — of either the Celtic or feline variety.

In any properly-run business, people who go on paid trips abroad have to justify each venture, or it would be classified as an unnecessary junket, and somebody would have to answer for such extravagance.

Politicians usually contend that they are learning from the cultures of other countries on such ventures, but some of those ventures seem to be to the furthest and most exotic destinations that are as remote from our culture as they are distant from our shores.

The Communication and Marine Committee sent four members on a two-week trip to Argentina and Chile. Deputy Noel O’Flynn defended the trip, pointing out that they had a very busy itinerary. But that is not the issue; the real concern is whether this was of any benefit to the Irish people.

If members of the Oireachtas wish to travel for their own recreation, they pay themselves handsomely and they can well afford to pay for their own junkets. The South American trip only cost €18,000 for the four men for two weeks because they travelled economy class, according to Deputy O’Flynn.

Was he bragging or complaining? If they do not show that any benefit accrued to the Irish people, the whole venture just amounted to a €4,500 holiday junket for each of them.

The most expensive trip was a 10-day trip to China by members of the Justice Committee. The China tour was billed as a bilateral exchange of justice and legislative concerns.

Argentina, Chile and China had three of the most repressive regimes of the last quarter of the 20th century. It would be very interesting to hear what positive lessons a democracy like ours could learn from those countries, given their utterly dismal record on human rights.

There was an expensive venture to the United States in 2005 as well as trips to Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Korea, South Africa and Vietnam. The five-day American trip, which involved five politicians, cost €26,968. Such ventures can undoubtedly be beneficial for this country, but the politicians need to demonstrate this.

It is imperative that those going on such ventures should justify them in the public interest. It is not enough that our politicians should act honestly; they should be seen to do so. If this is not made apparent, then the exotic trips abroad take on the aspects of junkets that are just another form of plunder that further degrades our political life.