Cullen and his team deserve no medals from the taxpayer for their Beijing performance

FIGURES recently released by the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that minister Martin Cullen and three officials ran up a staggering €67,000 bill during a three-week trip to Beijing for the Olympic Games last summer.

Aside from the costs associated with top-class accommodation in five-star hotels in Beijing and Hong Kong, the minister and his retinue claimed a “meal allowance” of more than €10,000 — a case of fine dining if ever there was one.

The issue of the trip first came to light last summer when it emerged that Cullen travelled first-class to the games while certain athletes travelled economy class.

Was the presence of the Irish athletes at the games not the primary reason for the minister’s trip to China in the first place? Why then should he and his entourage travel so lavishly while the athletes travelled economy class?

A statement issued by the department in relation to the issue argued that “flights and accommodation for events such as the Olympics are always at a high premium” and that the department “made every effort to secure the best possible rates for the minister and his delegation”.

What benefit, if any, arose out of Cullen’s visit to Beijing? In my opinion, the trip represented nothing more than a brief photo opportunity with the Irish medallists as well as a nice holiday for himself at the expense of the taxpayer. Although this type of lavish lifestyle and expenditure is undoubtedly occurring across other government departments and agencies (Mary Harney’s infamous hair-do being a case in point), what makes this case all the more galling is the fact that the minister in question was also responsible for squandering €50 million in the evoting machines debacle a few years ago.

This occurred at a time when more than 50,000 people were on the housing list, over which Cullen’s department at the time presided, and hundreds of people were homeless.

These millions of euro which were wasted on Cullen’s ‘watch’ could so easily have been spent to help these people. Yet despite concerns raised by the opposition and the electorate at the time, the minister pressed ahead with the plans and left us with a €50 million bill when it all went pear-shaped.

Given the economic turmoil that the country now finds itself in, such a disgraceful waste of taxpayers’ money can no longer be tolerated. Cullen and some of his fellow-ministers ought to lead by example and should perhaps look a little closer to home before preaching to the public about belt-tightening.

John O’Brien Jr

‘Riverville’

Killacluig East

Mitchelstown

Co Cork