The ridiculous amount a royal visit costs: "I cannot stand over this type of expenditure"
The staggering price of a royal visit has been revealed after one councillor in Ireland shared a breakdown of the cost of a visit from Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla.
In June, the heir to the throne and his wife visited Cork, Ireland, for an overnight stop in the university town.
Despite their short stay, Cork City Council spent an excessive amount of money to prepare for the trip.
And now, Thomas Gould, Sinn Féin Councillor for Cork North Central, has shared a breakdown of the cost on Twitter.
He wrote: "Cork City Council’s spent €19,770 ($31,078) for a dinner for Charles & Camilla along with 70 guests. In total €203,761 ($320,310).”
"I have no issue with them visiting but I cannot stand over this type of expenditure when we have the high levels of homelessness, hospital waiting lists € much more."
The cost for the visit included $9331 spent on polishing door handles in Town Hall and $9780 on replacing a light in the foyer.
However, the council has defended the costs in a statement to CCN, saying the expenditure included “specialist reconditioning, polishing and lacquering of over 260 individual brass items by a local specialist firm".
The council also spent money on "reconditioning, polishing and lacquering door handles, escutcheons, push plates, finger plates, brass fittings and kick plates.
"These items had not been refurbished since they were first put in place over 80 years ago and were due to be refinished but the project was brought forward due to (the) Royal visit," they said.
During Charles and Camilla’s stay, they also visited the English Market which was decorated with $14,669 worth of banners to mark its 230th birthday.
What are your thoughts on the cost of Prince Charles and Camilla's royal visit to Ireland? Let us know in the comments below.