Upcoming St Patrick's Day trips are under fire from Galway's People Before Profit representatives.
The party is critical of planned trips by Hildegarde Naughton, Anne Rabbitte and 34 other Ministers and Junior Ministers, with Galway City Central rep Adrian Curran describes them as "public junkets."
"It is time the merits of sending Government representatives around the globe every St Patrick's Day were seriously questioned," says Adrian Curran.
"Galway TDs and Ministers of State Hildegarde Naughton (FG ) and Anne Rabbitte (FF ) are among the government representatives jetting off on publicly-funded junkets. Naughton will visit Miami and Mexico, while Rabbitte is headed for South Africa" he says.
"We're paying for these trips, but so is the planet."
Maisie McMaster, People Before Profit rep for Galway City West, says such trips in the current climate are unncessary.
"In a time when it is vital we drastically reduce carbon emissions, sending Ministers around the globe on unnecessary long-haul flights sends entirely the wrong message. By a very conservative estimate, these trips will produce as many tonnes of carbon emissions as the average Irish person produces in six years.
"By any measure that is reckless behaviour by the Government."
Denman Rooke, People Before Profit rep for Galway City East says it must be asked if these trips are in the public interest.
"In reality, the Ministers are going abroad to sell Ireland as a tax haven for corporations. The European commission, all the serious tax academics, and all the tax justice organisations agree that Ireland is a tax haven. A report from 2018 showed through statistics that Ireland was the biggest tax haven in the world in 2015. We had more tax evasion and avoidance than all the Caribbean islands put together. This is what attracts foreign capital here and this is the Ireland that Ministers will be looking to promote."
