A LOCAL authority spent almost €50,000 sending thirteen councillors and staff to California on a five-night “sister city” trip.

The trip involved a delegation drawn from all over Cork including representatives from local gardaí, UCC, the local Institute of Technology and the Port of Cork.

Details of the city council part of the visit show how the delegation was taken on an escorted boat trip around San Francisco’s Bay area, and were treated to a reception after an evening at a Major League baseball game.

The council also hosted a €9,000 knees-up on the rooftop of Hotel Via, a four-star hotel overlooking the home stadium of the San Francisco Giants baseball team and the city harbour.

Accommodation for the trip ended up costing over €14,500, according to records from the local authority.

The delegation was led by the Fianna Fáil former Lord Mayor Tony Fitzgerald who was accompanied by his wife Georgina with their costs paid by the city council.

Five other politicians – Independent Paudie Dineen, Fianna Fáil’s Terry Shannon, Fine Gael’s PJ Hourican, and Sinn Féin’s Shane O’Shea and Stephen Cunningham – travelled along with six council officials.

The entire bill for the trip came to €48,921 with the cost of accommodation at the four-star Hilton in the Financial District making up the largest part of the tab.

Read the documents below: