The expenses claimed by members of the Oireachtas are likely to be made public for the first time following indications that none of the main political parties will initiate a legal challenge to their publication.
The information, to be published at the end of this month, will show the expenses claimed by 166 TDs and 60 senators.
Until now the identity of Oireachtas members has been kept confidential when the level of their expenses has been revealed.
Last year TDs claimed more than £4 million in expenses. The largest amount claimed by an individual TD was £44,706.
In all, 51 TDs claimed expenses in excess of £30,000. The present basic salary of a TD is £38,000.
Last month the Information Commissioner, Mr Kevin Murphy, ruled that the expense details should be made public under the Freedom of Information Act.
The four political parties which opposed identification of the TDs and senators, Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour and the PDs, are entitled to bring a court challenge to Mr Murphy's ruling until the end of this month.
However, the Government chief whip, Mr Seamus Brennan, last night told The Irish Times that, following discussions with the party whips, it had been decided not to contest the Information Commissioner's decision in the High Court.
In his ruling at the end of last month, Mr Murphy said he had "great difficulty in seeing that details of expenses claimed by members of the Oireachtas are any more private than their salaries".
He decided that the identities of Oireachtas members and their individual expenses claims should now be disclosed.
The Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas had previously refused to release the information.
Mr Brennan said any High Court challenge would not be done by the parties. Any challenge would have to have been on a point of law.
This, in effect, would have seen the political parties challenging the constitutionality of the Freedom of Information Act.
Despite the decision of the parties it is still open to an individual TD or senator to initiate a court challenge. The view among the political parties is that such a move is highly unlikely.
A Labour Party source said: "The publication of this information is now viewed with a sense of fatalism".
Mr Brennan said the party whips had asked the Oireachtas public relations office to prepare background documents to explain the nature of the expenses claimed by TDs and senators.
He noted that in the UK requests for details of MPs' expenses were excluded under the new British Freedom of Information Bill.
The original request for the expenses details of Oireachtas members under the Freedom of Information Act was made by the Sunday Tribune newspaper.
In addition to their basic salaries, TDs are entitled to claim expenses for secretarial assistance, travel, Dail attendance and outlays for constituency telephone calls and offices. The holders of certain positions - Ceann Comhairle, Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Cathaoirleach, LeasChathaoirleach, party whips and the leader of the Seanad - can claim mobile phone expenses.