28 April 2025
SDLP Leader of the Opposition Matthew O’Toole MLA has challenged First Minister Michelle O’Neill over Executive Ministers spending thousands of taxpayers’ money on five-star hotels.
It comes after media reports that the cost of overseas trips involving Ministers and staff was nearly £220,000 over the past year.
The First Minister did not confirm if she had stayed in any five-star establishments since taking up the role.
South Belfast MLA Mr O’Toole said:
“The public have a right to know how their money is being spent – particularly when it comes from an Executive that pleads poverty at every opportunity. Revelations that some Ministers are racking up thousands in hotel bills at five-star establishments are hard to stomach, with this Executive claiming it doesn’t have the money to spend £5,000 pedestrianising Hill Street in Belfast.
“Nobody expects Stormont Ministers to stay in poor quality accommodation, but the costs that have been incurred by Ministers and staff staying in high-end establishments from Singapore to Berlin are impossible to justify. International travel and advocating for this place is a key part of many Minister’s roles, but how can the public accept these costs from the same people who tell them there’s no money to help pensioners heat their homes or to mitigate welfare cuts.
“There are numerous examples, from a Sinn Féin Economy Minister who thought it appropriate to opt for five-star luxury at the ‘iconic’ Willard Intercontinental in Washington DC costing just under £6,000 to the Communities Minister, who has no responsibility for international relations, inward investment or any other issue requiring regular overseas travel, racking up tens of thousands of pounds in travel costs, including on five-star hotel stays.
“It’s absurd gaslighting for the First Minister to say she has no idea if she has ever stayed in a five-star hotel during an overseas trip. She told me today that she believes it's important to be prudent with public money, well these figures show that isn’t the case at the minute. She is the leader of this Executive and if she truly believes that I ask her what is she going to do about it? We can’t have Ministers swanning around the world and staying in opulent hotels at a time when our public services are in ruin and families are finding things increasingly more difficult.”