How much did Tipperary council spend on St Patrick’s Day trip to Maryland?
The cost for a St Patrick’s Day trip to Baltimore, Maryland for a delegation from Tipperary County Council cost the local authority less than €10,000, the Irish Independent can reveal.
The details, revealed to the Irish Independent under a Freedom of Information request, show that the total cost for the five-day trip for three people came in at €7,889.96.
The delegation consisted of Sinead Carr, chief executive of Tipperary County Council, John Carroll, cathaoirleach of the council, and Anthony Fitzgerald, the council’s head of enterprise.
The delegation were invited to Baltimore, Maryland, to meet Susan C. Lee, the Secretary of State for Maryland.
In her invitation, Ms Lee said Maryland and Ireland share a longstanding relationship grounded in shared heritage and economic engagement.
She also mentioned the Carroll family, who played an important role in the of founding the state of Maryland.
The figures show that the single biggest payment was on flights, with return flights costing €2,295. The next biggest cost was on accommodation, coming in at a total of €1,783.71 for the five nights.
€819.04 was spent at the Hilton Garden Inn White Marsh on March 14 and 15. On March 16, the delegation stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn Annapolis Downtown at a cost of €473.60. The group then stayed at The Churchill Hotel on St Patrick’s Day, costing €491.07.
Car hire for the trip cost €668.15, while extra costs such as taxis, fuel for the hire car and car parking came to another €1,441.08.
Expenses for subsistence such as food and drink, came to a total of €1,701.99 over the trip.
Trips abroad for St Patrick’s Day are common for councillors, council staff and ministers. The trips serve as networking opportunities and a chance to promote Ireland to dignitaries across the world.
The Tipperary delegation were expected to discuss higher education, advanced research, quantum technologies, agriculture, horse racing, life sciences, biotechnology, medical innovation, and the expanding bioeconomy with their American counterparts.
Nationally, 40 Government ministers travelled abroad to more than 50 countries to mark St Patrick’s Day.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin visited Washington DC to meet US President Donald Trump, before moving on to Philadelphia.
Tipperary County Council were contacted for comment, but none was received at the time of publication.