DUP communities minister Gordon Lyons has claimed he was “shocked” by the £40,000 cost of flights to North America during a recent transatlantic visit.
The Stormont minister led a delegation on a nine-day trip to the US and Canada last month at a cost of more than £40,000.
The visit included the minister’s special adviser, a press officer and three other officials.
When asked about the trip, which began on October 10, Department for Communities (DfC) officials initially refused to provide details.
They later confirmed that Mr Lyons had visited Washington DC, Toronto in Canada and Bethlehem in Pennsylvania to attend a series of events, meetings and engagements.
The minister, his special adviser, and private secretary flew from Dublin to Washington in business class, while the three other officials travelled in economy at a cost of more than £21,000.
While the cost of flights for Mr Lyons and his special adviser was £5,658 each, the price tag for the private secretary was £7,448 - almost £2,000 more.
During the trip, Mr Lyons and four officials also flew economy class to Toronto at a total cost of more than £4,500.
Figures released in response to a Freedom of Information Request show that accommodation costs in America came to more than £13,000.
Flight and accommodation costs linked to the press officer who took part in the trip came to more than £4,300.
A webpage containing media statements issued by DfC show that no press releases were issued between October 9 and October 18 - the day before and after the minister’s first and final engagements.
That only statement carried on the website provided details of an event in Bethlehem.
Mr Lyons has denied the trip was “shrouded in mystery”.
“I don’t think it was shrouded in mystery,” he said.
“I put out statements about all of the events that I was at.”
Mr Lyons said he was “surprised” at the £40,000 cost of the trip.
He also said he was “shocked” by the cost of his flight, which totalled £5,658.
“I can tell you I was shocked and surprised, more than shocked and surprised when I heard the cost of this,” he said.
“That’s why I think we need to look at procurement around some of this to make sure that it is value for money,” he said.
“It’s not something I have a hand in.”
Mr Lyons said he was unaware of the cost of the trip until he returned home.
“We had set out what it was that we wanted to achieve in this trip, I’m not trying to pass the buck here, but it was not something I was aware of,” he said.
“We are not actually told the cost of these things until after they are completed.
“So, that was a shock to me, I think we would obviously want to do this an awful lot cheaper, and I get that, and I can understand the concern that there will be expressed around all of this, and I absolutely think that needs to be looked at,” he told the BBC.
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll has been critical of the cost.
“Communities across the north have been waiting on an anti-poverty strategy since 2006.
“A strategy might be closer to publication if the minister spent less time jet-setting. This trip represents a colossal waste of money and time.”
