THE ENTIRE GOVERNMENT spent just €50 on make-up and hair services last year, new figures have shown.

Data published by each member of the cabinet in response to parliamentary questions from Fianna Fáil’s Niall Collins show that only one Department incurred any costs for make-up since the new government was elected in February 2011.

The only Department which has seen any costs at all is the Department of Finance, which declined to respond to further queries on how the costs were incurred.

The bill compares to an overall cost of over €27,000 for 2006, the last year for which details of spending by every government department are available.

In that year, Bertie Ahern’s Department of the Taoiseach spent some €25,583 – spending the then-taoiseach explained was required as a result of Ahern’s regular TV appearances, including appearances under the industrial lighting of the Dáil chamber.

Figures obtained byTheJournal.ie earlier this month showed that the Department of the Taoiseach had not spent any public funds on make-up during Enda Kenny’s tenure, for either the Taoiseach or the junior ministers Paul Kehoe and Lucinda Creighton.

Read: Bertie spent €441 a week on make-up. Enda has spent… €0 >