Revealed: John O’Donoghue’s six-day odyssey on state jet

The former minister John O'Donoghue (above) ran up a bill of nearly €75,000 on government jet trips

by Ken Foxe
www.tribune.ie

* Overall cost to taxpayers for trip that took in Cannes film festival – €32,450; * Cost of interrupting official business to return to constituency event – €11,300

Former arts, sport and tourism minister John O’Donoghue commandeered the government jet for a six-day odyssey that included returning to Kerry for a constituency event while he was attending the Cannes Film festival.

The cost of this diversion – to attend the opening of new offices for the Fexco money transfer firm in May 2006 – was €11,300. The event in Kilorglin, Co Kerry,was also attended by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, who spoke officially on behalf of the government.

O’Donoghue, accompanied by his wife Kate Ann, returned from the Cannes Film Festival where he was attending the première of The Wind That Shakes The Barley to be there. He then travelled from Kerry to Cardiff for the Heineken Rugby Cup final which Munster won and travelled back to Cannes by government jet. He went from Cannes to London for a Ryder Cup promotional event, before returning to Dublin on 24 May 2006.

The total cost of the six-day trip to the Irish taxpayer was €32,450 and is detailed in a letter sent by O’Donoghue’s private secretary Therese O’Connor to assistant private secretary Nick Reddy at the Department of the Taoiseach. O’Connor and Barry Murphy, principal officer of the government’s film unit, also accompanied the former minister. Read full article…

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