Ceann Comhairle keeping quiet over expenses
CEANN Comhairle John O'Donoghue was keeping mum yesterday after the revelation of fresh eye-watering expenses claims from his time as a cabinet minister.
Mr O'Donoghue, his wife and a private secretary ran up travel expenses of more than €60,000 a year between them in each of two years when he was serving as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism.
They stayed in luxury hotels in Venice, Berlin, London and Paris at up to €1,000 a night per guest, and incurred huge bills for luxury limousine hire and transfers. The figures, released to a Sunday newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act, exclude the extensive use of the government jet.
Defenders of the Ceann Comhairle said yesterday that all the accommodation and incidentals had been procured by his departmental officials. It was also suggested that such expenditure was necessary in order to encourage the location of big events, such as the Ryder Cup, in Ireland.
The new documents come after it was revealed recently that Mr O'Donoghue, his wife Kate Ann, and two civil servants racked up a €27,000 travel bill in New York over the course of just four days.
Mr O'Donoghue was refusing to comment yesterday on the new disclosures, which include €120 "hat rental".
One expense was listed as €80 for "Indians" moving the party's luggage.
"Some of the expenditure here seems overly extravagant," said Sinn Fein TD Aengus O Snodaigh.
- Senan Molony
