Deputy Mary Lou McDonald-- speech from 22 Oct 2024

Goethe, Thaiseach, we have had the debacle of your bicycle shed, your security hut, the doubling of costs for modular homes, 9 million euros for phone pouches, of course the mind-blowing cost overruns for the National Children's Hospital, the list goes on and on. But we discover now that over six months you have spent almost half a million euros of the people's money on private jets to meetings in Europe. That to me is an astonishing sum over such a short period of time. Thaiseach, can you give us some response, please, as to how that represents value for money? 500,000 euros, half a million euros on travel for you on private jets, even by the standards of Fine Gael, Thaiseach, that is certainly extravagant and self-indulgent. At a time where students, where families, where workers are struggling, how do you justify such wastage and such extravagance on yourself? Of course, my travel arrangements are the same travel arrangements that have been in place for Thaiseach for many, many years.