Bertie Ahern meets residents at the Nial Mellon Township Trust as part of his tour of South Africa in January last year

ENTERPRISE Ireland spent almost €13,000 on catering at an event hosted by former taoiseach Bertie Ahern during the final trade mission of his tenure, a trip to South Africa, which cost the taxpayer almost €250,000.

During the three-day event, the mission spent almost €40,000 on receptions, over €11,000 on chauffeur-driven cars, €1,500 on photographs and bought ten mobile phones.

The entire affair was six times more expensive than Mary Coughlan's controversial trade mission to the UAE last November, where she stayed in a luxurious €900 a night suite. The agency released the information under the Freedom of Information Act.

Enterprise Ireland also spent €26,000 on flights to South Africa for its chief executive Frank Ryan, then enterprise minister Micheál Martin and three senior state officials. Details of Ahern's expenses and most of Martin's are unavailable, however, because they were covered by their respective departments.

The agency defended the cost, saying such events played a crucial role in promoting Irish exports and that 52 companies took part in the mission. The €13,000 catering bill, a spokesman said, related to a major event hosted by Ahern which involved "a very large number of invited people".