A one-night hotel stay for Tánaiste Simon Harris, Ireland’s Ambassador to the UK Martin Fraser, and a team of six civil servants came with a cost of nearly €4,200 to Irish taxpayers, reports Breaking News.
Simon Harris, who was Taoiseach at the time, stayed at the five-star Old Parsonage Hotel in Oxford, where the room charge for one night alone came to €563.
The expenses were incurred during Mr Harris’s visit to meet UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and to participate in a European Political Community (EPC) meeting held in Oxfordshire last July, reports Breaking News.
The Old Parsonage, a well-known boutique hotel in Oxford, promotes itself as “a luxury home-from-home with impeccable hospitality.”
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the room bookings were made during a period of limited availability due to a surge in visiting delegations.
They stated: “Accommodation for one night, 17 July, was booked on the basis of location, availability and quoted costings in a period of high demand in Oxford, reports Breaking News.
“[There were] forty plus Heads of State and Government and their delegations also in attendance at the EPC conference,” reports Breaking News.
Other lower-ranking officials who also traveled for the event were accommodated at a nearby Premier Inn, where a night’s stay cost nearly €275.
These expenses were part of tens of thousands of euros spent using diplomatic credit cards at Irish embassies in London and Paris throughout the past year.
In Paris, the embassy accumulated notable costs during both the Rugby World Cup and the Olympics, including €2,800 on temporary lodging for one staff member, reports Breaking News.
An Airbnb stay during the 2024 Olympics totaled €5,576 for one official, during a time when Ireland achieved a record medal tally.
Additionally, another Airbnb expense of €2,090 was recorded for a group of Irish artists visiting Paris during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, according to Freedom of Information records, reports Breaking News.
Other transactions included €620 spent on four rugby tickets, categorized under “political engagement” by the Embassy.
There were also charges such as €250 for Rugby World Cup-themed promotional pins, €2,900 for a political group’s stay at the Tsuba Hotel in Paris, and roughly €230 spent on Irish cheese.
More routine purchases on the credit card involved €36 for doorstops, €21.50 for light bulbs, and €1,317 to replace a grill, reports Breaking News.
At the London Embassy, expenses included €105 for four umbrellas for drivers, €144 spent on tea towels from John Lewis, and €138 for Christmas lights from Amazon.
A refrigerator replacement cost €1,317, and €105 was paid due to a congestion charge penalty under London’s road fee system, reports Breaking News.
Another charge of about €2,150 at the Pullman Hotel covered a visit by Minister Paschal Donohoe and four staff members in August last year.
When asked about the spending in France, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: “Tens of thousands of Irish citizens travelled to France for the Rugby World Cup (2023) and Paris Olympics and Paralympics (2024). In advance of these tournaments, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reinforced its operations in France, to provide expanded consular services for traveling fans,” reports Breaking News.
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