THE IRISH Embassy in London has defended its decision to hire a chauffeur-driven car in London to pick up Minister for the Environment John Gormley in Wales last year, which eventually cost more than €2,000.
Following publicity about the matter, Mr Gormley said that a car should have been hired in Wales rather than in London to collect him from the Holyhead ferry and transport him to Hay-on-Wye in Herefordshire.
The controversy has been reported this week by the Irish Post– the largest-selling paper for the Irish community in Britain – which said that Mr Gormley had "laid the blame for the latest revelation of Government extravagance firmly at its [the embassy's] door".
Responding to questions from The Irish Times, the embassy said it had given considered a Welsh car hire, but decided against it because of Mr Gormley's "'unusual itinerary"; his late departure from Cardiff airport and the need to take an official back to London.
“The practice whereby Irish Government Ministers are provided with transport and accompanied by embassy officials on visits to foreign countries is long-standing and in conformity with international practice,” the embassy said.
The embassy said it had been asked to arrange a bio-fuelled people carrier to meet the Minister and two officials at Holyhead, to transport them to their hotel in Hereford, where they stayed overnight and to provide transport locally.
“On the following morning, the Minister and party were to be brought from Hereford to Hay-on- Wye and from there, later that day, to Cardiff airport, from where the Minister and party were scheduled to depart at 8.45 pm.
“The official embassy car was engaged in normal embassy business in London over the two days in question.” The embassy added that Mr Gormley’s office had not been involved in making the transport arrangements.
“Consideration was given to hiring a car in Wales, but given the unusual itinerary, the need for an embassy official to travel to Holyhead and return from Cardiff and the lateness of Minister Gormley’s departure from Cardiff, the decision was taken by the embassy to hire a car in London that would bring the official to Holyhead from London and bring the official back to London the following evening, after Minister Gormley’s departure.
"The alternative would have involved the official catching a train, which would have arrived in London the next morning, or overnighting in Wales," The Irish Timeswas told.
Holyhead is 227 miles from London, while the distance between Holyhead and Hereford is 168 miles. Hereford to Hay-on-Wye is a further 22 miles. From there to Cardiff is 60 miles and the journey back to London is 152.
The bill would have covered the driver’s overnight accommodation costs.
Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it was not yet in a position to state how frequently Ministers availed of limousine transfer between terminals at Heathrow in recent years. It said the department was currently compiling figures.
In response to questions from The Irish Times, the department spokesman said the use of an official vehicle to transfer Ministers between terminals at Heathrow was standard protocol and had been for 30 years.
He also said that the greeting of a Minister by an embassy official was also a long-standing practice.
The spokesman said that the department had discontinued the practice of hiring vehicles for transfer between terminal last January.
“The department has issued revised guidelines to determine whether it is necessary for an embassy official to assist transiting ministerial delegations,” added the spokesman in a written response.