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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Ken Foxe

Taoiseach's office spent €97 on novelty dog ties for St Patrick's Day

The Taoiseach’s office spent €97 on novelty St Patrick’s Day dog collars as part of an array of “protocol gift stock” last year, it has been revealed.

It also spent €317 on floral arrangements for a virtual meeting with Joe Biden and €300 for the online presentation of a crystal Shamrock bowl to the US president.

According to records released under Freedom Of Information, a sum of €1,300 was spent on gifts by the Taoiseach’s office, with a special edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses purchased for €300.

READ MORE: Micheal Martin doesn't 'anticipate' Mary Lou McDonald will become Taoiseach - but won't rule out going into Government with Sinn Fein

A total of €97 was paid to Swaggles Dog Collars for shamrock bow ties and green shamrock dog collars, while €57 was spent on special linen facemasks, also for St Patrick’s Day.

Other items purchased included a €117 Woodland Bog Oak fountain pen for US Vice President Kamala Harris and €381 for an assortment of pens for the “protocol gift stock”.

A breakdown of more than €400,000 in spending on travel, accommodation, training, PR, and photographs also details a €48,000 spend on hotels abroad.

This included more than €13,300 spent during a five-night stay at Fitzpatrick’s Hotel in New York for the Taoiseach and a seven-strong delegation for the UN General Assembly.

New York (Stone Sub)

The individual bills for each room were €1,507 with a further €1,010 added on for “breakfast charges”, according to a database of spending.

There was another €5,300 bill for the Sofitel Hotel in Brussels for a two-night stay last June for a European Council meeting, which included a €622 cancellation fee for accommodation that was not needed.

The overseas car hire bill was more than €22,000 with the largest single invoice for €6,036 for “ground transportation” for the Taoiseach and his staff during the UN General Assembly in New York last September.

Another €3,400 was paid out in car transport costs for the European Council meeting that took place between June 24 and June 25 last year.

The department ran up a €1,366 bill for flower arrangements, including €317.80 for the “St Patrick’s Day virtual meeting between [the] Taoiseach and President Biden” in March 2021 at Government Buildings.

US President Joe Biden meets virtually with Taoiseach Micheal Martin on March 17, 2022, in the Oval Office of the White House (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

Another €476 was paid out for flowers for when French President Emmanuel Macron visited Ireland during August of last year.

Just under €21,000 was spent on catering for official functions including a spend of €6,793 for refreshments, canapes, tea, and coffee, for the National Day of Commemoration.

A sum of €2,155 was paid out for a “working lunch” between the Taoiseach and President Macron, including €850 for food and €1,305 for staff to serve it.

There were bills of €743, €578, and €575 for main courses for Government lunches at Dublin Castle between April and August last year.

The department also paid out €847 in pest control costs as it contends with wildlife in Dublin’s city centre including the notorious fox that had broken into Government Buildings. There were also €27,397 in what were described as “ex-gratia payments” with no further details, with the department saying it was personal information.

The department paid out almost €13,000 for conferences and seminars, and a further €47,784 for training courses for its staff.

An interdepartmental exercise on “Brexit preparedness” cost €4,800 while €2,380 was spent on training nine staff in how to manage protected disclosures.

The department also paid out €1,845 for a mobile video storytelling course for some of its communications staff and €1,250 for a “plain English” course. Photography costs came to €43,737 for a range of events while a sum of €39,825 was spent on public relations, all relating to the IBRC Commission of Inquiry.

Two sopranos were hired with Rachel Croash paid €1,000 to perform at the National Day of Commemoration and Claudia Boyle paid €2,000 for the Easter Sunday Commemoration Ceremony at the GPO last April.

Other bills from 2021 at the department included €43,853 spent on airfares, €34,943 in domestic mileage costs and almost €12,000 for taxis.

A carbon emission offset for the Taoiseach and staff who travelled abroad last year came to €818.

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