Either way, in the first three months of this year, Ahern spent more money on cosmetics and make-up artists than British prime minister Tony Blair did since 1999.

Last week, Ahern showed that he was up there amongst men who dare to care when he revealed to a disgruntled Dail that his department spent 25,107.22 last year on having his face done. From January to March this year, the expenditure came to over 4,000.

According to the Department of the Taoiseach, two professional make-up artists are engaged on a rotational basis to provide a make-up service for the Taoiseach. They are paid at the current Siptu rate of 187.45 per day and work for two to three days a week.

But between 1999 and 2005, Downing Street paid out a puny 2,698 for cosmetics for Tony Blair's media appearances. During the last British election, then Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy spent just under 3,000 on his appearance, while former Conservative party leader Michael Howard splashed over 5,000 on his cosmetics. None of them come close to our Bertie.

Education minister Mary Hanafin may have claimed that the newly dubbed L'Oreal Taoiseach "is worth it", but should Ahern's weekly appearance really be worth more than what Blair spends in a year?

British media reports have suggested that Blair's make-up use has spiralled at times of stress. In 2002, Ahern was spending just under 12,000 on make-up. That heyday is long gone, and the bill has more than doubled. Is the Taoiseach feeling the pressure to look more youthful in the (fresh) face of competition from Enda Kenny? And has anyone even noticed what difference this doubling in make-up expenditure has made?

"I think that in recent years, Bertie has improved his looks greatly, " said Julieann Browne, assistant manager of Pout in Brown Thomas. "He now has a sharp groomed appearance, which is great to see."

But celebrity make-up artist Lisa O'Connor, who did the make-up for RTE's Yo u ' r e a Star, felt that it would be easy for the Taoiseach to do his own make-up.

"Really it's a bit lazy of him employing a make-up artist to do his make-up, " she said.

"Make-up for a man is very simple and it would be easy for him to do it himself. It's not like he has any birthmarks that need covering up; his skin is generally fine. He just needs to matten it."

According to O'Connor, Ahern's make-up regime for camera would include a matte powder foundation to hide his ruddy complexion and take away any shine, and a bit of concealer for the eyes, in case he cut himself shaving.

If Ahern were to do his own make-up, he would cut his cosmetics spending by thousands.

The British public were outraged when Charles Kennedy forked out the equivalent of 400 on his own travelling make-up bag, but as that is a drop in the ocean that is Ahern's beauty regime, presumably the taxpayer would be happy enough with that little purchase. After all, it's substantially cheaper than what a travelling make-up artist costs.

But let's not get carried away. According to O'Connor, Ahern can't be let loose in Brown Thomas on a mission for a nice foundation. "Choosing the right colour is the most important thing in a foundation and one of the most common things that people get wrong, " she said. Instead, he would have to be kitted out with the right materials and given a couple of lessons on how to slap it on.

That's what the rest of the ministers seem to do, as most departments confirmed last week that their ministers don't have any special make-up arrangements.

However, Lorraine O'Neill of the LA Make-Up Academy in Dublin felt that it is money well spent. "If people realised what Bertie would look like without make-up in a photo, I think they would call back the make-up artist, " she said. "If he did it himself I think he would either end up looking tangoed or else he would look like a ghost. It's not about the products, it's about the application and the tools."

And in fairness to Ahern, everyone agreed that his makeup artists are doing a good job.

"He has been tangoed in his past, but these days he seems to look good, " said Ellie Balfe, of Boylan and Balfe cosmetics, Dublin. "You don't really notice the make-up and that's a sign of a good job." Even the opposition couldn't help but concede that Bertie "is looking well on it" these days.

Perhaps our L'Oreal Taoiseach is worth it after all.