€5k Oz flight ‘very difficult’

AN Irish politician has described a lavish junket to Australia as “very difficult on the body.”

Senator Gabrielle Mcfadden, 51, jetted Down Under in business class, costing the taxpayer €5,700.

The sky high fare bought the Westmeath politician a reclining seat on the “arduous and difficult” flight to Melbourne.

But Senator Mcfadden claimed the journey wasn’t as luxurious as it sounds.

She said: “You had a space where you could recline your seat, basically is what I got out of it.

“I won’t be doing it again I can tell you.

“It was very difficult on the body. Maybe it’s my age but I found it very hard to do all that travelling.” Ms Mcfadden defended the price of the fare, arguing she had no choice but to take a top class ticket.

She told Midlands 103 radio: “You’re trying to make a big deal out of it, it’s almost like I’m being accused here.

“It actually is a policy, that the Department of Finance has set up, that any member of the Oireachtas or anybody that is travelling for more than nine hours doesn’t travel economy class.”

The trip was designed to build political ties between Ireland and Australia. Ms Mcfadden said: “I think it was an investment. It was absolutely worth it. We worked very hard. “It was an inter-parliamentary trip. We were invited to build inter-parliamentary relations and also to I suppose highlight the benefits of Ireland.”