Wasting €164,000

One way to save some money would be to have government ministers take commercial airlines. How many jobs would €164,000 have saved if O Dea and Coughlan hadn't wasted so much money in a futile begging mission in Texas?




From the Examiner

THE cost of flying Tánaiste Mary Coughlan and Defence Minister Willie O’Dea to Texas to meet with Dell boss Michael Dell last December has been confirmed to be more than €164,000, even though the cost per person on a scheduled service would have been less that €1,000.

Figures released by the Department of Defence in response to a question by Fine Gael TD Jim O’Keeffe, show that Mr O’Dea made eight overseas trips and used the Government jet for three domestic flights at a cost to the taxpayer of over €500,000.

Some of those trips were to destinations in Europe, including Brussels and Paris, which are served by airlines from Ireland.