A FIANNA Fáil Senator has cancelled a planned tour of the Oireachtas, including a talk and a meal, after it emerged people were being charged €85 for the event.
An e-mail sent to professionals in the property and finance sectors by an organisation called Courses For Living advertised the lecture and tour of Leinster House to be conducted by Senator Mark Daly next Tuesday.
The e-mail described the event as one relevant to solicitors, accountants, auctioneers and other property and finance-related professionals for the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme.
Potential participants were informed the fee for the tour, talk and lunch in the Oireachtas members’ restaurant was €85, while participants would qualify for four CPD points.
When contacted by The Irish Times, Mr Daly said he was stunned to hear a fee was being charged to people who intended to participate in the event.
“I was asked to host this tour and I agreed on the basis that it was a normal event,” he said. “I often take active age groups and the like around Leinster House and give them a talk afterwards, and I assumed this was the same.
“I had no idea people were going to be charged for the event and now that I have been informed of this, I intend to cancel it immediately.” He later confirmed he had cancelled the tour.
When contacted by The Irish Timeslast night and asked if Mr Daly was receiving any portion of the €85 ticket price, a spokeswoman for Courses for Living, who said she was the firm's owner, said "absolutely not". She said the Senator was conducting the tour "as a favour".
Asked whether she thought he was aware there was a charge for the tour, she said: “It wasn’t an issue with him, but he specifically said he wasn’t charging for it, his secretary said that.”
The e-mail sent by Courses For Living, based in Co Kerry, had said the event comprised “a guided tour and history of the Oireachtas in the context of important historic events. This includes the Dáil and Seanad Chambers and important points of reference in between.”