LIMERICK City and County Council told the Limerick Post it could not provide details of what elected and non-elected members were representing the Treaty abroad for St Patrick’s Day as it would pose a “safety risk”.
When asked for details, a council spokesman responded: “As you can appreciate, for security reasons we cannot provide details of the delegates going abroad. This would constitute a safety risk.”
The council confirmed that three councillors and one executive member travelled to Rockaway, New York, United States, last week, but did not disclose the nature of the visit.
Five councillors and two executive members were travelling to New York, along with a further five councillors and two executive members travelling to Savannah, Georgia, South Carolina.
When asked for details of what travel expenses were available to delegates for their trips, the council spokesman said that “any travel expenses would be in line with relevant department circulars”.
Meanwhile, three Limerick TDs are travelling abroad to represent Ireland at the expense of the taxpayer.
Patrickswell native and Fianna Fáil Minister of State Niall Collins, told the Limerick Post that he was travelling to Cleveland and Pittsburg in the US, along with “two officials from the (Education) Department”.
“I’m looking forward to engaging with the Irish diaspora in both Cleveland and Pittsburgh over the next few days, I will also be speaking to political, business, and educational leaders in both cities, emphasising that Ireland is open for business,” said Minister Collins.
Patrick O’Donovan, Fine Gael OPW Minster of State said that travelling abroad for St Patrick’s Day “is something I believe is of vital national interest to Ireland and, as a minister in government, I’ve always taken that role very seriously”.
The West Limerick TD said he was “looking forward to visiting the State of Missouri in the United States, the first minister in a number of years to visit the cities of St Louis and Kansas City”.
“It has a deep Irish heritage and culture and, given the size of the parades and events planned for Missouri, I’m sure Ireland and St Patrick’s Day will make a big impression,” he added.
Fine Gael Limerick City Minister of State at Local Government and Planning, Kieran O’Donnell, did not respond when the Limerick Post asked him for comment about his trip to Slovakia, Austria and Czech Republic.
