A government minister’s insistence that he travels economy when on government business overseas has kept his flight bill for two separate trade missions this year to just over €3,500.
In February and April this year, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue completed trade missions to the Middle East and the US.
Figures recently provided in a Dáil written response show that the total bill for the minister’s eight flights resulting from the two trade missions to Dubai and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in February and to the US in April total €3,533.
Trade mission
The flight bill for the four-day trade mission to the EXPO 2020 Dubai and Riyadh in February totalled €1,839.09 with the Dáil reply confirming that Minister McConalogue travelled economy class on all flights.
The flight bill for the trade mission to the US in April totalled €1,694.59 and the minister’s four economy class flights related to destinations in Chicago, Columbus, Ohio and Washington DC.
A one-way business class seat from Dublin to New York JFK for the last Friday in September can range in price from €1,694 to €2,844.
The figures provided in the Dáil response also show that Minister McConalogue travelled to a European Council meeting in Luxembourg in June at his own expense and he paid out €279.89 for the flight.
A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said: “The minister travels economy on his request. This is a personal decision and applies to all flights for official duties.
“Officials travelling with the minister also travel with the minister in economy.”
On the flight to Luxembourg at the minister’s own expense, the spokesman said that “the minister travelled from a family break directly to the monthly AgFish Council of Ministers’ business in Luxembourg. This is currently being reimbursed”.
Another example in the past year of Minister McConalogue’s low cost travel approach is a €25.91 return flight from Brussels last December.
Accommodation costs for the cost-conscious agriculture minister suggest that he avoids luxury hotel rates when on government business when his accommodation costs totalled €130 for a night in Brussels in January with an outlay on accommodation costing €137.24 in March.
Minister’s McConalogue’s ‘economy’ approach to flying follows reports last month of his Green Party government colleagues, environment minister, Eamon Ryan, and tourism minister, Catherine Martin using business flights on official government business over the past year.
A spokesperson for Minister Martin said at the time that the minister’s use of business class is “dictated by the demands of the itinerary and is done in line with the department’s policy on travel”.
“Premium economy/business class may be used for long-haul flights where the additional flexibility afforded is considered necessary for the effective discharge of official business or where scheduled flying time exceeds five hours’ duration,” the spokesperson added.