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THE CHAIRMAN OF the Dáil’s spending watchdog has said that a case could be made for ministers to be accompanied by their spouses on foreign trips and that the State should pay for these in some circumstances.
Fianna Fáil TD John McGuinness, the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, was responding to a story concerning his time as Junior Enterprise Minister in 2007 in which he argued that there was a case to be made for a spouse to accompany a Minister on certain foreign trips.
Fiach Kelly writes in the Irish Independent that McGuinness tried to bring his wife on a trade missions to Dubai and Canada six years ago, offering to pay himself, but later he argued on a more general point that there were cases where the State should foot the bill.
On RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, McGuinness said that he accepted the protocol in relation to trade missions – that wives do not accompany ministers – but pointed out that he would have paid for his own wife to travel with him.
He said: “I suggested that the 1959 circular, which the officials were basing their case on, was outdated and that the regulation and protocol should be modernised because there are circumstances, I’m sure, where ministers would like their spouses or partners to travel with them.
“A case could be made and the minister should pay, but that there may be cases and circumstances where the State might pay,” he said pointing out that this is currently the case in relation to St Patrick’s Day visits to foreign countries where spouses travel is paid for.
McGuinness said that work practices have changed and “family are now central to everything”. He continued:
“There are circumstances that should be considered when ministers are away on State business for long periods of time and where they believe that their wife should travel, they should pay and their may be other circumstances where the minister can then make a case, within a new set of guidelines, where he believes the State should pay.”
Asked if he believed the State could afford such an expense in the current economic circumstances, McGuinness said: “Can we afford not to do it in terms of trade missions and in terms of our promotion of Ireland abroad for example on St Patrick’s Day?”
He said that he did not believe the issue could be ignored and reiterated that it has always been his intention to pay for his wife to travel with him on the trade missions in question in 2007.
Speaking later on the programme, the junior transport minister Alan Kelly said he found McGuinness’s comments “quite bizarre” and said he did not believe the taxpayer should be paying for spouses to travel with ministers under any circumstances, including St Patrick’s Day.
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I wonder what causes more disruption to air travel, Unions or Terrorists? I’d say Unions!
You’d wonder about SIPTU’s real agenda in all this. That deficit didn’t just happen overnight. It’s as much the workers fault as the company’s. the trustees either put too much trust in fund managers, or took their eye off the ball completely. Personally I think SIPTU are more worried about Croke park than anything else. Using Aer Lingus workers is a smokescreen.
The union guy won’t give up his wages during this dispute! I hope the union looks after these people.
They will, they provide strike pay to their members.
Here we go again! Ryanair will be laughing, counting their profits.
not quite, don’t forget they own just under 30% of Aer Lingus shares as well, strike action won’t do their value much good…
Last time they went on strike Ryanair leased a/c’s and crew to Aer Lingus and Ryanair operated some of their flights, probably just do the same again
Hard to listen to a man who paid himself €1.3 million last year accusing the workers of featherbedding…
The unions have wanted this strike for some time. They get to shut down the country and show how powerful they are. They’re ok with their big wage packets, while they screw the ordinary people of this country. Not nice people!
Hey, idiot, the Union doesn’t decide when people strike, the workers do
Their as bad as the teachers almost for striking
If you become an employee of a semi-state company – as aer lingus was – you are compelled to join their pension scheme. It’s a requirement. If you are required to join the surely the company that insists you Join has an equal responsibility to ensure the fund is properly managed and has a funding plan that is both acceptable and practical? Workers are just fighting for their pension rights.
Spot on Seafra. The comments above blaming “the unions” seem to imply the big boys in Liberty Hall are putting a gun to the heads of their gullible members to force them to strike. It’s the majority of Aer Lingus workers that made the decision and fair play to them for fighting for their pensions.
I reckon the government will introduce a law that will allow companies losing money due to strikes to hire new staff or fire the striking party! they did it in America in the 80s when air traffic controllers striked and shut one half off the country down, the government simply passed a law because because they seen it a potential threat to the economy and fired them all replacing them with the many people that were looking for work at that time.
Please don’t strike I’m flying with them late next month, haven’t had a break in years. I’m living for it :(
For the past 25 years at least it is the same old story with Air Lingus
Yawn yawn
have your say