A city council spent close to €600 per person per night on accommodation at a luxury hotel featuring its own private beach along the French Riviera.
Dublin City Council accumulated a hotel bill of almost €11,400 at the Royal Antibes during an official यात्रा by councillors and staff in March, reports RTE.
Five members of the delegation stayed for three nights in an apartment with a sea-view terrace, costing over €8,800 in total – roughly €592 per person per night.
A sixth delegate remained for an additional night, bringing their total bill to €2,502, or more than €625 per night, reports RTE.
The visit to Antibes was one of more than a dozen trips taken by Dublin City Council staff and elected members during March, according to records released under FOI.
These trips included destinations such as Berlin, Prague, Amsterdam, Rome, and the west coast of the United States, reports RTE.
During a four-night visit to San José in California involving five staff and councillors, accommodation expenses reached nearly €11,000.
One individual did not travel, and a refund of €1,775 was later issued to the council, reports RTE.
The nightly room rate at the four-star The Westin San Jose averaged about €460, according to the records.
Business class flights to California were arranged for Lord Mayor Ray McAdam and the council’s chief executive Richard Shakespeare, reports RTE.
Mr McAdam’s flight cost nearly €5,900, while Mr Shakespeare’s fare amounted to €4,185.
Other members of the group travelled economy class, with ticket prices of around €1,000 each, reports RTE.
Chief executive Richard Shakespeare also joined the earlier delegation to the French Riviera.
There were further high accommodation costs, including a deluxe room at the Hôtel de l’Abbaye in Paris, which cost €553.45 for one night, reports RTE.
An invoice noted that this booking was made “outside travel policy” but justified due to its central location in the French capital, where accommodation is known to be expensive.
Accommodation for two people at the four-star nhow Amsterdam RAI exceeded €4,000, with an average nightly cost of about €500 per person during the March trip, reports RTE.
A separate charge of €2,011 was also recorded at the same hotel for another employee’s four-night stay.
In late March, one official travelled to London for an event, staying two nights at the InterContinental London, reports RTE.
The accommodation cost for that trip, covering 22–24 March, totalled €1,150, or €575 per night.
There was also a significant bill of €6,334 at the Glenavon House Hotel for a work trip involving eight staff members.
This amount covered bed and breakfast from 8–13 March, according to the invoice, reports RTE.
When questioned about the spending, Dublin City Council said that official travel helps staff exchange ideas and learn from other cities about the challenges they face and how they address them.
A spokesperson said: “Through travel and collaboration, staff, and management gain exposure to international good practice across a range of services, leading to better city outcomes. The City Council uses the expertise of a contracted travel service and endeavours to book accommodation at mid-range prices and within good proximity to the location of the purpose of the business trip,” reports RTE.
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