EXCLUSIVE - O'Donoghue: five years in office, €550k in expenses

Show me the money: travel bill of at least €350,000 was incurred by John O'Donoghue and his wife in three-and-a-half years

CEANN Comhairle John O'Donoghue ran up a bill in excess of €550,000 in lavish expenses during the five-year period he served as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism from 2002 to 2007.

An astonishing travel bill of at least €350,000 was incurred by O'Donoghue and his wife Kate-Ann during his first three-and-a-half years in office, new figures obtained under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act show.

These figures are on top of the €126,000 in expenses incurred by O'Donoghue, his wife and officials on travel in 2006 and 2007, plus a further €75,000 cost in using the government jet.

It brings the former Minister's total of known expenses during his five years as Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism to a staggering €554,000. This does not include flights and hotels paid for by other state agencies.

Flights costing €9,000 each and limousine bills of more than €12,000 were all charged to the taxpayer whilst the former minister was in office between June 2002 and the end of 2005.

Close to €175,000 was spent on first-class and business-class flights, five-star hotels, and chauffeur-driven limousines according to new details of expenditure revealed to the Sunday Tribune.

A further €178,000 was spent on government jet travel, according to the documents, while thousands more was spent on O'Donoghue's travel by state agencies including Horse Racing Ireland, the Irish Film Board and Tourism Ireland. These figures are not revealed in the documents released.

During a 42-month period between 2002 and 2005, O'Donoghue travelled abroad on 48 different occasions with his wife Kate-Ann accompanying him on at least 27 of those occasions.

They travelled to the United States on at least six occasions, visited Australia twice, attended international soccer tournaments and golf events and made an annual pilgrimage to England for St Patrick's Day and the Cheltenham racing festival.

This weekend the Ceann Comhairle claimed in a solicitor's letter to the Sunday Tribune that information in a series of articles we have published in relation to his expenses have "fundamentally misled the Irish people".

The letter was issued from his solicitors on Friday afternoon, a day after the new FoI material was released and just hours after a series of questions about O'Donoghue's travel were submitted to the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism.

Solicitor's letter

The letter from Holmes O'Malley Sexton said: "We write to put you on notice that some of the information which you have published in a number of articles and relating to our client and expenses is totally inaccurate, misleading, exaggerated and disingenuous.

"Further, we also write to advise that same has fundamentally misled the Irish people. Mr John O'Donoghue, the Ceann Comhairle intends to ensure that the Public record on such matters is corrected in a manner consistent with the proper discharge of his duties as Ceann Comhairle. It is our view that you should be aware of this.

"Further, you might please note that our client will be taking such further steps as may be advised in due course."

Determining exactly how much was spent on overseas travel has proved virtually impossible as many of the bills were picked up by agencies like Tourism Ireland, Horse Racing Ireland and the Irish Film Board.

Comments

#1 Robert Browne commented, on September 13, 2009 at 6:42 p.m.:

Mr. Homes, of Homes O'Malley Sexton. Is there any possibility that your "client" would go now as it is abundantly clear that the Irish tax payer can not afford him. At least that much is plain to see.

As regards all this lavish expenditure which was meted out to your client, I am sure he stood up to it all and bore it all with fortitude and dignity on behalf of the Irish tax payer.

#2 Mark commented, on September 13, 2009 at 7:23 p.m.:

When it all turned sour the Public Sector was made the scapegoat, now I see it is those on the dole, who are getting far too much, meanwhile the b********s who are really responsible stay in power to do yet further damage to the people of the country.
O' Donoghue can blow half a million euro and he is still in office, and I can bet you the mugs in his Kerry constituency will vote him in again, it is obvious we are the stupidest people on the planet, and we deserve everything we get.

#3 c carroll commented, on September 13, 2009 at 8:50 p.m.:

It just goes to show how low the greens have gone that there is not a single word out of them about this immoral activity.the greens remind me of weeds that have been sprayed with weed killer,they are dead at the roots,with just dead foliage over ground doing nothing! bertis legacy lives on.

#4 P J commented, on September 14, 2009 at 12:27 a.m.:

This man's neck and audacity knows no limits. And he has the cheek to threaten your fine publication with "FURTHER STEPS AS MAY BE ADVISED IN DUE COURSE" Let's watch and wait and see what he comes up with. Have no worries Sunday Tribune. I've no doubt your investigations are accurate and our Ceann Chomhairle is using bully tactics. He should resign in disgrace.

#5 Richard commented, on September 14, 2009 at 12:45 a.m.:

This scandalous abuse of public money will impact on future generations. The collective mismanagement of the country by Fianna Fail governments resulting in serious waste of hard earned money by decent honest people has brought the country to its knees. It is true what Sean O Casey said to the dreamers preparing for the 1916 Rising. All you will suceed in doing is changing your masters. One expects and accepts oppression from a colonising nation. When your own does it to you it makes a mockery of those who lived and died for a noble cause.

#6 Derek Brawn commented, on September 14, 2009 at 2:20 a.m.:

The UK Ceann Comhairle (Speaker of the House of Commons), Michael Martin was forced to resign over MP Expenses & Allowances just this summer. So does this mean that O'Donoghue's resignation is imminent? Not likely, this is Oirland after all, nobody ever fesses up, takes responsibility or accepts accountability. Another serious tarnish to the international reputation and credibility of the political incumbents of this country, at a time when our government finances may be subject to the vagaries of the international debt capital markets. Do the right thing O'Donoghue - go now.

#7 Stephen Mahon commented, on September 14, 2009 at 11:04 a.m.:

The lavish lifestyle of O’Donoghue and his friends in the Dáil shows how our country operates. O’Donoghue hides behind his official job title. He feels that he does not need to explain his expenses. It is likely that he will escape any action against him. The millionaire lifestyle which he experiences is paid for by normal people.

Brian Cowen and his buddies will give us a €1,000 property tax bill and a water charges bill in December this year, while John O’Donoghue will continue to claim his lavish expenses. O’Donoghue has little appreciation of how it is to live on a budget.

Some people say that Ireland is a banana republic. There is not anyone who has been prosecuted for the Anglo Irish Bank fiasco. It is likely that no one will be, and it is also likely that O’Donoghue will continue to claim expenses. We can rest assured that if we do not pay our television licenses that we will go directly to Mountjoy prison. What sense is there in how our country operates?

#8 Kieran commented, on September 14, 2009 at 1:36 p.m.:

We deserve what we get in terms of our politicians. How many times have we seen a politician exposed for some scandal or other and he/she tops the poll in the next election! John O Donoghue is just one in this group as I assume he will continue to get elected. I am thinking of another politician who drove down the road in the wrong direction while drunk, another who fed his livestock banned feedstuff, another who participated in mass tax evasion while employed by a bank and another who had his house renovations paid for by a wealthy business man. These were not genuine mistakes, these were all wreckless acts. All four continuously get elected, despite the scandals they have been invovled in. I am sure there are many more. I am sure there are many more cases of this nature that I can't re-call.

#9 jonathan commented, on September 14, 2009 at 1:40 p.m.:

He should be made give it back, especially the money spent on his wife for the trips.

#10 John James commented, on September 14, 2009 at 5:25 p.m.:

This blatant waste of public money makes my blood boil. The money John O Donoghue spent on his wife needs to be explained. If this is claimed to be a legit expense, how did this and she help his work?
Just one of his €9000 flights would give a family of six two weeks in Florida and two more in Spain.

#11 John Kinsella commented, on September 14, 2009 at 6:25 p.m.:

The Sunday Tribune got off lightly when asked for a fee of € 1600.00 for an FOI request for information on these issues. In May I submitted an FOI request to Failte Ireland to establish how much grant aid they have paid out to Town & Country Homes & Irish Farmhouses since 2007 , the amount paid out was in excess of € 500,000.00 and the fee they requested was € 3352.00. Signed : John Kinsella. Creakan Lower , New Ross.

#12 John Mc Cormack commented, on September 14, 2009 at 11:48 p.m.:

Well done those involved in exposing this wastrel,lets hope he does the decent thing and resigns...but decency is not the FF way,they do not do resignations in the face of utterly overwhelming public distaste.

#13 Dave commented, on September 15, 2009 at 11:43 p.m.:

Congratulations on your coverage of the expenses scandal. Why is their not more outrage I ask from the opposition and the even the Greens ? Because its probably just the tip of the iceberg. Please keep up your FOI requests keep up your investiagtive journalism 'with probity'. Accountability is needed for the people of this country. We will not get it until Fianna Fail are removed and until a new morality grows within the Irish pschye.

#14 Desmond commented, on September 16, 2009 at 11:37 p.m.:

I echo Dave's sentiments. The party of low morality has to be removed. In the eighties and nineties, corruption permeated Fianna Fail. In more recent years the corruption has dissipated (for the most part) due to it's exposure and not through any sense of probity by its representatives. The attitude of 'entitlement' evidenced by John O'Donoghue's escapades as an Arabian prince is still present. That and incompetence.

#15 Ingrid Ratimitaz commented, on September 17, 2009 at 11:18 p.m.:

Here, here.

This arrogant excuse for a politician is the very epitome of the 'contribute nothing and take everything' brigade that sit in the Dail.

And now he has a nice little number wearing a gown and banging his hammer. Tribune, keep digging on this story, do not let it lie. We keep expressing our outrage, but doing nothing, then we keep saying "We keep talking, but we're doing nothing" but we need the media to turn on this guys and make them outcasts so that they feel it, and then we get them out.

Then we can instill /some/ morality into Irish politics and turn things around.

#16 Clodagh Bryan commented, on September 17, 2009 at 11:38 p.m.:

I cannot understand how after the millions and millions of corruption and waste from our public purse that this goverment has not been taken down and crippled. When medical cards were taken from our older and wiser generation, they were having none of it, younger generations in this country need a wake up call to stop accepting the waste of tax payers money, why are we not all out on the streets in our thousands marching against this goverment, what does it take to shake the tax payers of this nation?

#17 John commented, on September 20, 2009 at 5:01 p.m.:

2009 Invitation List for October

for the attention of John O'Donoghue
Oct 1 Invitation to a snot throwing competition in Kazakhstan and you are
both welcome. We look forward to your return visit this year.

Oct 6 Invitation to Liberia to attend the passing out parade of 100 baboons, especially trained in arts and crafts.

Oct 12 The Rhodesian Foreign Ministry
cordially invites you and Anny Kate to
the bull castrating rodeo in the capital.
This will afford plenty of ideas for the IDA to work on, to make Ireland awash with jobs

Solicitor's letter

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