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Micheal Martin's €30k bill

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Comments

  • #32
    foggy_lad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,373 ✭✭✭✭foggy_lad


    delahuntv wrote: »
    266 retun flights over 5 years comes to about €112 per return flight.

    I wouldn't call that excessive, but the indo creates the hysterical headline as usual.

    Work out the additional cost of a driver bringing him to Cork and the driver staying overnight or having to return to colect him. Basic math would shos that taking the flight and beng collected by his missus was far more economical.

    But the "30k on flights" hysterical headline is what some will read without doing a basic calculation.

    btw - as they were not business class seats or the cost per return flight was quite reasonable, this info was handily ommitted as it just wouldn't match the headline

    Wouldn't the driver have to bring the car to cork and meet up with the minister afterwards. Why couldn't he get the train? Although first class with Irish rail would be dearer than the flight.


  • #33
    Losty Dublin
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 13,322 ✭✭✭✭Losty Dublin


    Donkey Oaty wrote: »
    These were commercial flights, not on a private jet.

    However, the phrase "jetting" away suggests a carefree holiday with the implied squandering of public money that is necessary to induce outrage in Indo readers. By some of the comments on this thread, it seems to work.

    How much did the Indo pay for flights, limo's and accomm. for Sir A.J. O'Reilly, Denis O'Brien and their merry board of whistle blowers?

    €29,999 or less? The expense is just.


  • #34
    Herb Powell
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,097 ✭✭✭Herb Powell


    delahuntv wrote: »
    266 retun flights over 5 years comes to about €112 per return flight.

    I wouldn't call that excessive, but the indo creates the hysterical headline as usual.

    Work out the additional cost of a driver bringing him to Cork and the driver staying overnight or having to return to colect him. Basic math would shos that taking the flight and beng collected by his missus was far more economical.

    But the "30k on flights" hysterical headline is what some will read without doing a basic calculation.

    btw - as they were not business class seats or the cost per return flight was quite reasonable, this info was handily ommitted as it just wouldn't match the headline

    Nah, that's still ****, tbh.

    The last time I checked, Aircoach did €22 return between Cork and Dublin.


  • #35
    michael999999
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 7,771 ✭✭✭michael999999


    alias no.9 wrote: »
    The car is probably making the trip by road to pick him up at the other end

    I painted the newly developed Fitzgerald stadium in Killarney 5-6 years ago.

    Brian Cowan was choppered down from Dublin. He's driver made the trip down with the car earlier in the morning to meet him in Killarney, and drive him the 50km round trip to Tralee and back.

    He was then flown back to Dublin and the driver took the empty car back to Dublin.

    I should have mentioned they also closed down the entire building site of over 250 people while Cowan was being shown around, in case anyone would say any thing to him.


  • #36
    ButtersSuki
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 53,028 ✭✭✭✭ButtersSuki


    I was on a few of those flights with the bauld Mickellín as I used to fly to Cork for work* regularly back in the days. The first thing I should point out is that they were Aer Lingus rather than Ryanair flights - Aer Lingus used to operate that route at the time. The second thing is I can confirm is that I did see his driver pick him up on at least one occasion as I was getting a taxi. So while I'm not opposed to him getting a relatively inexpensive flight to Cork as an act in itself, the utter waste and double expense of having the driver make the same journey to ferry him the short distance home is inexcusable.


    *the logic from a work perspective was that it was at the time the quickest and cheapest way to get to Cork from Dublin. The road trip was about 4 hours at the time (not the 5 alluded to in the article) and as our meetings were very close to the airport it made sense rather than taking the train and having to get from Cork City centre out to the meetings.


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  • #37
    The Diabolical Monocle
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,618 ✭✭✭The Diabolical Monocle


    Just use fvcking Skype.

    Edit: the calculations so far skip the wages he is paid. May be cheaper to pay an expensive flight and get his job done in 1 day than 2 days wages and a bus.


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