AS the floats and parades roll out over the next few days, Ireland's Ministers take their annual leave of our annual celebration and head for foreign lands to spread the 'Irish message', like modern day Crusaders.

Those of us listening to the radio yesterday morning were treated to the yearly outrage spouted concerning the admittedly inflated costs of sending some of our finest abroad.

Naturally we cannot expect our representatives to be slumming it in cargo class, but some of the chauffeur bills outweighed those of the airline costs (up to €18,000) and whatever Seamus Brennan was getting for his €1,650 per night in a pricey Roman hotel better have been worth it. Is it a case of classic Irish begrudgery? Every year the figures are rolled out and we all raise our eyes to heaven in disgust. Do the English question Ministers' expenses on St George's Day? The French on the Feast of Joan of Arc? For sure, we Irish like to have a moan at others' squandering of money.

When the money comes from the public purse however, a little scrutiny is allowed. There is no doubt that Ireland's tiny population and peripheral nature deserves as much trumpeting as is bearable abroad, and St Patrick's Day is definitely the time that every other head of state wants to be pictured shaking hands with an Irish politician. But apart from the photo op, are we really making any commercial gains abroad from these junkets? The answers from the various ministerial departments would appear to indicate it is negligible.

It might not do the government any harm to include a couple of low-budget options on one or two of their Patrick's Day junkets, just so as in twelve months time, the inevitable PR that will surround the occasion might contain a couple of surprises for those journalists sharpening the knives and waiting for their FOIs to return.

Mary Harney dining at Wagga Mamas? Seamus Brennan sleeping in the YMCA. Dream on . . .

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