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LIMOUSINE hire for Brian Cowen on an official trip to the United States as finance minister cost the taxpayer more than €13,000.
Cowen and his wife Mary also stayed in a €650-a-night suite at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, according to details of his St Patrick's Day travels.
On that trip to Malaysia and Vietnam, the then minister charged more than €40 to his room for laundry, which included seven pairs of "underpants" and five shirts. But Cowen made arrangements to pay that bill back, along with several other small room expenses incurred on the trip.
Cowen was accompanied on the trip by his daughters Sinéad and Meadhbh; their €703 hotel bill was initially paid by the department but was also refunded by Mary Cowen.
A letter to the Taoiseach's wife in July 2008 reads: "I wish to confirm receipt of payment to the Department of Finance of €703.70 as payment for accommodation costs incurred for Ms Sinéad Cowen at the Shangri-La Hotel… during the period 12-16 March 2008."
According to records from the department, flights for Cowen and his wife cost more than €9,000, with €4,603 paid for the Taoiseach's travels.
His accommodation bill on that leg of the journey came to €2,852 for a four-night stay at the luxury Kuala Lumpur hotel.
Cowen was careful to ensure that personal expenditure was not included in the bill and went to the trouble of paying back €90 in personal items.
That included his laundry bill, three packets of crisps in his room, a room service bill for pizzas and sandwiches and another for a burger and a soft drink.
On the trip, Cowen and his wife also made small claims for subsistence although, according to documents, they were paid an imprest [advance] of €975.
A year earlier, Cowen had travelled to Chicago with three civil servants for the annual St Patrick's Day festivities there.
Flights on that trip for the minister and three of his advisers came to €12,572 – or €3,143 each –according to the department of finance.
VIP services at Dublin airport came to €700, according to the records, €240 of which was for car parking for the duration of their stay in the US.
By far the most significant expense was on car hire, which came to a massive €13,247 over the course of the week.
That included tips of €2,518 which, as happened with all ministerial travel, were added to the limousine bills as a matter of course and were not paid in cash.
Cowen also purchased gifts worth €705 from House of Ireland at Nassau Street in Dublin. They included two €36 set of cufflinks, a €111 tablecloth, a €116 luncheon set and an €81 fold-up alarm clock.
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My mother read snippets of the article above to me on Sunday. We were, quite simply, appalled.
It is good that politicians have been called to account in relation to expenses which are paid for by the taxpayer. It was clear that politicians had completely lost the run of themselves and had lost all sense of what is appropriate and ethical when holding public office. This has been apparent for a long time particularly under the stewartship of Bertie Aherne when the sense of entitlement got out of control.
However your exposure of this has gone too far. It is clear that all sense of reason has disappeared and that the Sunday Tribune are engaging in a distasteful witch hunt. Brian Cowen comes across as a completely honest man who's integity would stand up to scrutiny. The Taoiseach and his party have a lot to answer for politically but why is he subject to such personal attacks. This has been relentless since he became leader (in fact before he became leader as far as the Sunday Independent is concerned). Its been open season for the past 18 months on his appearance, his eating habits, his drinking habits, his personality, his moods. How low can we go? Well, it seems, not low enough as far as the Sunday Tribune is concerned. How ugly, nasty and mean is your article above. To discuss the details of Brian Cowen's food bill (food obviously eaten by the children) is petty enough but to outline the items of the laundry bill (which Mr. Cowen paid for by the way) is simply beyond words. It actually says more about your paper than it does about Mr. Cowen but it does expose him yet again in a way that is irreparable.
This is unpardonable particularly as the Taoiseach has little to answer for in this matter. Why is it that Bertie Aherne never received this sort of abuse when his behaviour in office left a lot to be desired (but of course there were no etics in his day as he used to tell us!). There's no need to go into his makeup bill, the refurbishment of a floor of offices on leaving office, the appointment of friends and partner to all sorts of prominent positions etc,etc. I think we know why Bertie largely was let off the hook. He brought a team of journo's with him on every trip. He gave them what they wanted and they had a ball.
Mr. Cowen seems to go out of his way to ensure that he pays his way, as he should, so why do you chose to humiliate him and his wife and children in this way?
Nobody deserves this. Everybody is entitled to a bit of dignity. You degrade him personally and the office of taoiseach.
I look forward to your reply.
Elizabeth Swords