Individuals and groups can buy significant 'face time' with their favourite MEPs, including dinner and a briefing, by availing of below-cost tours to visit the European parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg.

The 'EU-awareness' visits typically include groups of 50 people, and are subsidised by the EU parliament by up to €295 per person, depending on the distances travelled by participants.

Frequently, this means visitors get to stay in four-star hotels while also visiting other cities such as Amsterdam and Paris. However, the tours are provided at a significant discount to their normal cost.

According to the itinerary for one six-day trip, posted on the website of Fianna Fáil MEP Brian Crowley, a recent trip to Strasbourg cost a total of €598 per person sharing.

The trip included a visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg and a "briefing with your Fianna Fáil MEPs," the itinerary states.

As part of the deal, participants received return flights from Dublin, and a two-night stay in a four-star hotel in Paris.

They also were entitled to three nights in another four-star hotel in the Black Forest region of Germany, including an evening meal.

The tour also included a "complimentary lunch with your MEPs" and a "coach and tour guide throughout".

A similar trip, organised on behalf of Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell last November, took in the "Rhineland and Brussels".

For €495 per person sharing, participants enjoyed two nights' accommodation in Cologne in a four-star hotel, a cruise on the River Rhine, and two nights in a four-star Brussels hotel.

A spokeswoman for the European Parliament in Ireland said all MEPs have the option of inviting 100 people each a year to the parliament in either Brussels or Strasbourg.

"The participants are provided with a travel allowance based on the distance travelled and a [one-off] €35 meal subsidy," she said.

She said a recent travel allowance for a typical trip from Dublin to Brussels, funded by the parliament, was €224, while a trip from Kilkenny to Strasbourg received a €295 subsidy.

A spokesman for Fianna Fáil in Brussels said the trips were "not just for party activists," and said the party "does not make a profit from them".

"Many people ring MEP constituency offices to see if they can go on these trips," he said.

"Often organisations such as the Irish Countrywomen's Association and youth groups would ask for places on these trips.

"There are no hard and fast rules as to who goes on these trips. It is normally on a first- come first-served basis. One of the clear criticisms of the EU is the information deficit which applies to EU policy making. This is one of the ways to redress this information deficit."

A Fine Gael spokeswoman said its MEPs frequently meet people "out and about" who tell them they would "love to go to Brussels or Strasbourg".

"They would meet with the MEP who is hosting them, and then maybe meet their colleagues. It is an opportunity to improve awareness," she said.