Row over presidency food bill leaves bitter taste

The government was forced to review the adequacy of the annual entertainment bill for the presidency after a row broke out over who paid for the food bill at Áras an Uachtaráin.

State papers from 1983 reveal that president Patrick Hillery had been pressing repeatedly since 1979 for a review of his entertainment allowance of £15,000 on the basis it was inadequate.

An interdepartmental examination of the issue led the taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald, to propose in Feb 1983 that money for the food costs of household staff at Áras an Uachtaráin should be paid out of the annual budget of the Office Of Public Works.