The Governor of the Central Bank tonight pulled the plug on foreign travel for employees’ husbands and wives.
The authority was under immense pressure after it confirmed paying €67,450 for 71 overseas flights for spouses, including nine long haul business class trips from 2007 to 2009.
“I was not aware that the organisation had been covering the cost of so many spouse trips,” Governor Patrick Honohan said.
“While some of this expenditure could perhaps have been justifiable in the past, the practice does not seem appropriate in present circumstances.
“Accordingly I have decided that spouse travel will no longer be paid for.” The controversy only came to light after the Comptroller and Auditor General John Buckley corrected a report he compiled on spending by state agencies.
He initially reported 52 spouses went on a single trip with officials for an unnamed agency after sending out questionnaires to 19 state bodies.
The Central Bank was then forced to admit it had paid for the flights and the C&AG figures were wrong.
Governor Honohan has since revealed that foreign travel for husbands and wives was paid for on 71 occasions.
The opposition had rounded on the Central Bank for offering the free travel when workers were being hit with extra tax levies and unemployment had soared to more than €400,000.
Fine Gael’s finance spokesman Richard Bruton said the spending was cavalier.
Department of Finance guidelines state that the travel costs of people with no direct connection with the Government and no role in official business should not be paid for.
Payment is only sanctioned in exceptional circumstances such as an invite to a spouse from a host country or if a minister believes the travel is in the public interest.
The European Central Bank normally extends invites to spouses of special committee members once a year to a conference outside Frankfurt.
The Central Bank said its staff made 2,700 trips in 2007 and 2008. Fifty-two trips involved spouses of 35 employees after being invited to 49 separate meetings.
Last year 1,281 trips were made and 18 involved spouses travelling by invite.
The Central Bank said the average cost of the 62 flights in Europe was €435. The average cost of the long-distance flights was €4,515.
Under Central Bank rules the Director General or Chief Executive must authorise spouse travel.
PA