€387,000 spent on cars for overseas diplomats
€42k BMW most expensive vehicle
MORE than €387,000 was spent last year on luxury cars for Irish diplomats posted overseas.
Records released under a Freedom Of Information request revealed BMWS, a Lexus, a Volvo and two Toyota SUVS.
The most expensive vehicle was for the Embassy in Paris, where a BMW 530i costing €43,290 was bought.
That included a down payment of €5,000 last July and a further €38,290 that was paid off in October.
Next most expensive was a Toyota Fortuner purchased for the Consulate General in Mumbai, India.
The purchase price for the SUV was €41,867 but the Department said the final cost was €28,757 after tax rebates.
In the Slovakian capital Bratislava, officials bought a Skoda Superb for €41,480 but received a €6,913 tax refund last December.
The Permanent Mission to the UN in New York also got a new car last year in the form of a Lexus ES 300H, according to the records.
This cost €37,056 and included a trade-in of the previous vehicle the department owned.
The Embassy in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon got a new BMW 530i, which cost more than €35,000. That included a downpayment in June of €3,525 and another €32,041 in October.
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said diplomatic staff were required to undertake a great deal of travel during work.
He added: “This ranges from city journeys during the working day and in the evening to long journeys of up to several hundred miles by road.”
The spokesman said purchases must be based on a competitive process.
He added: “Different pricing models and conditions prevail across these international markets e.g. import regimes, taxation etc making direct comparisons between mission locations and/or Ireland very difficult.”
Other vehicles included a Volvo S90 T4 was bought in the Netherlands last September for €40,750.
But the department was given €11,250 for its old diplomatic vehicle.
THE Department of Foreign Affairs spent nearly €400,000 last year on luxury cars for diplomats posted overseas.
This included purchases of three BMWS, a Lexus, a Volvo and two Toyota SUVS.
Our ambassadors around the world have busy schedules and many make huge efforts to promote Irish culture and business abroad.
But at a time when many people at home cannot afford a car, it is a slap in the face to see the price tags on these vehicles.
Perhaps the DFA would do well to spend less time on flash cars and more on the issues that matter to Irish people at home and abroad.