Junior Minister Sean Fleming and his private secretary flew business class to Brazil for St Patrick’s Day, with the total bill for all their flights costing over €9,000.
The Irish Mirror revealed last month that of eight ministers who flew business class for Paddy’s Day trips, four were junior ministers. In three of the cases, the senior cabinet minister in their department flew in economy class.
Mr Fleming flew business despite other senior government ministers and aides flying economy further for the annual Paddy’s Day jamborees. Arts Minister Catherine Martin, the senior minister in the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and her delegation flew economy class to California, where she visited Los Angeles and San Diego.
The flying time was 11 hours and 20 minutes. Mr Fleming flew luxurious business class from Dublin to Sao Paulo via Lisbon. The flight from Dublin to Lisbon takes two hours and 50 minutes, with the flight from Lisbon to Sao Paulo clocking in at 10 hours.
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For the return leg, he and his private secretary flew economy from Brasilia to Dublin, with a stop again at Lisbon. The total cost for the return flights were €8,270.
There were also two more internal flights each in Brazil, which cost close to €1,000 more. Mr Fleming is a junior minister in Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for the diaspora and overseas development. The Irish Mirror received the latest details through a Freedom of Information request.
A spokesman for the Department said: “St Patrick’s Day offers an unmatched opportunity to promote Ireland abroad.” Last night, a spokesman for Minister Fleming said: “Flights associated with travel are subject to Civil Service guidelines on travel.
“The travel undertaken by the Minister and his delegation was fully consistent with these guidelines.”
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