THE FLIGHTS for Government Chief Whip and local Minister of State Paul Kehoe’s St. Patrick’s Day trip to Australia cost a total of €8,196.18, The Echo can reveal.
Figures acquired from the Department of An Taoiseach revealed the travel costs of the local Minister’s trip and those of an accompanying private secretary.
Minister Kehoe, who was one of 21 government ministers that went abroad for St. Patrick’s Day this year, spent 14 days in Australia and New Zealand from March 7 to 22, visiting the main cities of Perth, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland in New Zealand.
The Government Chief Whip’s trip included eight different flights both international and domestic, costing a total of €8,196.18 including transaction fees and baggage costs.
Minister’s Kehoe’s flight from Dublin to Perth on March 7 cost the State €2,211.49, while his return flight from Brisbane on March 22 cost €4,345.86. A series of domestic flights during the two week trip cost between €206 and €258.
Speaking to The Echo on his return from Australia last month, Minister Kehoe said that he did not know how much the trip had cost but said it was “frugal in comparison to the Fianna Fáil days.
“These trips are organised completely by the Department of Foreign Affairs. I just get on the plane and follow the itinerary.”
[Full story in this week’s Echo]
