CHINA'S growing influence on local and international affairs has drawn scrutiny, and a disclosure this week of council expenses reveals the Chinese Consulate covered accommodation costs for a councillor and the chief executive of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council.
Sinn Féin councillor Thomas O’Reilly and Council leader Alison McCullagh attended the China UK/NI Education Forum back in May staying for one night at the Europa Hotel in Belfast.
According to information seen by The Impartial Reporter, the accommodation cost was fully covered by the Chinese Consulate.
While this saved local taxpayers money, it contrasts sharply with expenses incurred for other councillors’ participation in international events, which were entirely funded by the ratepayer.
The expenses reveal the financial commitments made for councillors attending other events, particularly the 108th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme in Belgium and France.
For the Somme commemoration, three councillors - Ulster Unionist's Roy Crawford, Josephine Deehan, Independent, and the Democratic Unionist's Shirley Hawkes - stayed at the Novotel Ieper Centrum in Ypres on June 29, 2024.
Each councillor’s accommodation cost £189.25, amounting to a total of £567.75.
The same three councillors then travelled to Amiens, France, for a two-night stay at the Holiday Inn Express Amiens from June 30 to July 1, 2024.
Each stay cost £149.63, resulting in a combined total of £448.89 for accommodation.
Additional travel expenses included £313.18 for flights for one councillor and £287.98 each for the other two.
Councillor Crawford’s car travel to Belfast for the China forum was recorded at £77.25. The council also spent £164.00 on poppy wreaths and crosses for the commemorative events.
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