Cost of running President's office set to rise 

President Higgins receives a reduced salary of just under €250,000 after continuing the practice of accepting a voluntary pay cut, which was started by his predecessor Mary McAleese.

The cost of running the Office of the President is set to increase by more than 5% next year to more than €4.8 million.

The figure includes a travel and subsistence allowance of €310,000, as well as training, development and incidental expenses of €340,000. The gross pay bill for the president and his staff will increase by 2% to just over €2 million.