Taoiseach's make-up cost €28,000 last year

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern spent €28,000 last year or the equivalent of €550 a week on make-up artists in the past year, his office said today.

Since he entered office in 1997, this grooming has cost taxpayers €167,000.

Mr Ahern is not alone among European leaders in spending money on appearance.

Image-conscious Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has had a facelift to erase wrinkles. He also countered baldness with a hair transplant and said last month he was going on a diet.

However, some are more sensitive to revealing details of their grooming regime. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder successfully sued a German magazine that alleged that he dyed his hair.