Leo Varadkar gives Donald Trump a bowl of shamrock in the White House last year Source: PA Archive/PA Images
Those who travelled included the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, Ministers and Ministers of State, as well as the Chief Whip, the Ceann Comhairle, the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, and the Attorney General. The annual visits last year were part of ‘Ireland Connected’, a Government trade strategy billed as a “comprehensive, strategic approach to high-level visits and trade missions”.
The request asked how much was spent on travel, accommodation and other expenses for each member of Government who travelled, as well as for any officials who travelled with them, and the amount each Department or office spent on gifts.As tradition dictates, the Taoiseach had the most high-profile trip abroad last year , visiting the US to spend St Patrick’s Day with US President Donald Trump in the White House.
Flights made up the bulk of that figure, with €20,521 spent on return flights for the Minister and two of his officials. The delegation also clocked up a €4,782 hotel bill, spending three nights in the five-star St Regis in Beijing, one night in the five-star Portman Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai and another night in the five-star Conrad in Hong Kong.
An additional €5,380 was spent on accommodation the delegation, while the Department of Finance also included an invoice for €448.20 on Irish-themed cufflinks, pendants and bangles and seven Irish-themed silk ties.Flanagan travelled to Australia, seen as a key partner with by the Government since the Brexit referendum, with his special advisor and private secretary.
Transport made up the bulk of the costs for the delegation, with €2,425 spent on flights and €2,986 on hiring a minivan. Another Minister who didn’t have far to go was Regina Doherty, who spent three days in France with her advisor and her private secretary at a cost of €1,906. Another of those who travelled to the US last year, Humphreys and one official from her Department visited Boston, Texas and San Francisco at a cost of €16,997.
The costs also included a €539 dining bill, and €111 on unspecified entertainment, while €49 was also spent on Canadian visas for the three people who travelled.McHugh, who has since become Minister for Education, spent last St Patrick’s Day in South America, taking in visits to Chile and Brazil alongside his special advisor Mark O’Doherty.
Meanwhile, €520 was spent by the Department of Taoiseach on gifts, including €320 on jerseys and €183 on other unspecified gifts.In a six-day trip to the Middle East that cost €6,945, O’Connor travelled to the UAE and Oman with her private secretary, her advisor, and an official from the Department.The Department also spent €413 on gifts, while travel and subsistence expenses worth €2,092 were claimed by the delegation.
An additional €798 was also spent on a limousine to transport the junior Minister and his official around Chicago. A total of €3,513 was spent on flights, €2,766 on accommodation, and €224 on a number of unspecified gifts.The junior Minister in the Department of Housing spent St Patrick’s Day with a parliamentary assistant in Poland at a cost of €773.
A total of €13,353 was spent on return flights through London, while hotel costs amounted to €4,113 and €137 was spent on gifts.Kehoe’s St Patrick’s Day trip saw him visit Israel and Irish troops stationed in Lebanon at a total cost of €1,772. The delegation was put up at the five-star Fairmont Norfolk Hotel for €1,793, while return flights to Nairobi via London cost €5,436.The junior Minister at the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform travelled with his private secretary to Slovenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina for €6,718.The Department also paid €335 on a number of unspecified gifts for the trip.
Why first class flight's? What is wrong the way the rest of us travel ?
Looks like the journal really want to sponsor the office of Leo spending :)
You gotta be kidding
Is it that people feel they’d be better represented if they travelled in the back of the plane and stayed in the Ibis ? They are selling the country not a pound shop
Will they leave the price tag on when they hand it over?
Oh no I think he should take it over in a wash out 2 litre milk carton.
Paying pennies for a day in the global media = worth it.
Their sense of entitlement is staggering
Trump looks like he loves Leo's bush and Melaniabot well ..
Is that all!!! Stingy wankers!!!
The media and others who bring up the cost of the St. Patrick's Day 'charm offensive' every year need to cop on. If they spent 1000 times the amount, the value add in terms of FDI, tourism and brand development for Ireland Inc (which BTW means more jobs) is more than worth it.
Trump’s foul breath will kill the shamrock 😂
When I’m on business I travel 1st. Class too.
Slow weekend?
He'll probably think that it's a new wig!