The wheel of fortune keeps spinning for those elected to represent us, and there never seems to be a shortage of funds to support gaieties for our ministers, austerity or not austerity.
To be precise, €705,050 has been spent on Ministerial trips abroad for St Patrick’s Day, between the years of 2011 and 2014.
Enda Kenny alone has siphoned off €369,907, all spent on his annual visits to the United States since becoming Taoiseach. This sum is more than all other ministers combined.
In 2013, for example, the cost of using the jet, limousines, hotel, and all other associated expenditure amounted to €142,304.
The reason for these Ministerial trips abroad is purportedly to establish new economic and business ties, and foster the Irish economy, but one can only feel the sense of entitlement boasted by our representatives while at the same time they impose austerity and ‘tightening the belts’ for everyone else.