Dr Peter Bacon earned £131,000 (€166,336) for his three reports on the housing market, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Despite acting on many of the recommendations in Dr Bacon's reports, the Government has failed to stem the upward spiral in house prices which have increased by almost 60 per cent since the first Bacon report was published April 1998.
Dr Bacon, a former stockbroker and economic adviser to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, charged £61,407 including VAT for his first report and just more than £20,000 for a follow-up report in March 1999.
Both reports were initially well regarded but were criticised after it became apparent that the action taken on foot of them was not having a significant impact on house prices.
In particular, Dr Bacon was criticised by his peers for concentrating on measures that would reduce short-term demand for housing rather than increase supply.
In his first report, the economist recommended the abolition of tax breaks for investors in residential property, which had the undesirable effect of helping to drive up rents in Dublin and other urban areas.
Following his second report, completed in March last year at a cost of £20,000, Dr Bacon talked of a "considerable and significant improvement" in the housing market as a result of the implementation of measures recommended in the first report.
They proved to be short-lived but Dr Bacon was then asked to compile a third report which was published in mid-June.
He was paid just under £50,000 for this report and the Government has already acted on some of Dr Bacon's third set of recommendations. The new measures include a 9 per cent rate of stamp duty for properties bought as investments and a 2 per cent anti-speculation tax that applies to investments and holiday homes.
