Ahern earns €145k on talks alone

FORMER taoiseach Bertie Ahern earned an estimated €145,000 from speaking engagements last year, travelling to New York, Honduras, Nigeria and Madrid where he delivered lectures for fees of €29,000.

This is in addition to his half-rate taoiseach’s pension of €55,000 last year, his salary of more than €100,000 as a backbench TD, his payments as a columnist with the News of the World and the earnings from his autobiography which were tax-free under the artists’ exemption.

The sports columnist also got a free trip to the Italian city of Bari to watch the World Cup qualifier against Italy last March, paid for by the FAI for what he said was “in recognition of my support for the FAI”.