Ahern used jet eight times in 5 months

In his final five months as taoiseach, Bertie Ahern used the Government Gulfstream jet eight times at a cost of €343,215 to the taxpayer.

His most expensive trip on the jet was to the US for St Patrick’s Day, travelling from Baldonnel to Pennsylvania and then on to Washington DC at a cost of €121,637.

Brian Cowen, the then tánaiste and finance minister, cost the taxpayer €188,702 over the same five-month period in 2008, with his biggest trip being to Malta at a cost of €56,545.