Harney embroiled in expenses row

Health Minister Mary Harney is the latest figure to become involved in an expenses controversy with revelations that she ran up a bill of over €700,000 for use of the Government jet over a two-and-a-half year period.

The Minister also spent €65,000 on hotels and limousine hire over the same period, the Sunday Tribune has reported.

It was reported that the Minister used the Government jet on most occasions she travelled abroad on official business from February 2006 to September 2008, according to "heavily edited and delayed" documents supplied to the newspaper under Freedom of Information.

The total cost of Mary Harney's use of the Government jet on Department of Health business during the period in question was more than €735,000.

These Government jet trips included a visit to Arizona and Houston in February 2008 with her husband and six civil servants and advisers, and a trip to Canada in February 2006, accompanied by civil servants and a reporting crew from RTE.

On the trip to Arizona and Houston, car hire costs came to €10,208 while accommodation for the Minister and her husband cost €2,285. The Minister also attended the Super Bowl during this trip.

Costs of this trip came into the public domain last February, when it was revealed that it cost the taxpayer around €190,000 in total.

On most of the business trips concerned, she was accompanied by her husband John Geoghegan.

The visit to Canada in 2006 was to analyse cancer control governance models. The following year, Prof Tom Keane, who was involved in in cancer service reorganisation in Canada, was appointed head of the National Cancer Control Programme.

Ms Harney was also recently involved in a row over the cost of a 2004 trip to the US when she was Minister for Enterprise and Employment, including controversy over a hairdressing bill.

In response to the latest revelations over the weekend about the expenses of Mary Harney and other ministers , the Government has stressed that politicians' expenses will be radically overhauled.

Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue is set to resign this week following revelations about the level of expenses he ran up.

[Posted: Mon 12/10/2009]