JUST over €150,000 has been spent in providing secretarial support to two former Taoisigh over the past year.
The Department of the Taoiseach has been paying around €12,700 each month for secretarial assistance for Bertie Ahern and Enda Kenny.
All of the money was paid to a company called Tech Skills Resources Ltd, according to figures released under FOI by the department.
Bills for Bertie Ahern amounted to just under €70,000 while a further €83,000 was spent on secretarial support for Enda Kenny, the figures show.
Supports for the retired Taoisigh had been ended in 2012 by Mr Kenny – when he was head of government – in the aftermath of the Celtic Tiger crash.
However, they were restored by Leo Varadkar when he took office in 2017 with civil servants suggesting the annual cost could run to €300,000 per year.