Based on hundreds of previously unseen documents, Snouts in the Trough gives an inside account of the events that rocked Irish politics to its very foundations. From the salubrious offices of John O’Donoghue, the former Ceann Comhairle, to disgraced senator Ivor Callely’s long commute to work, award-winning journalist Ken Foxe provides an irresistible read.

Did Noel Dempsey really have to run up a bill of €75,000 in one week in California, all covered by the taxpayer? Why do Irish Cabinet Ministers stay in luxury hotels usually frequented by millionaires and royalty? 

Even John Gormley, taking the ferry to Holyhead in a fit of Green virtue, found that an Embassy limousine had driven from London to fetch him once he got ashore.

And then there’s the excesses of the semi-state agencies of which FÁS is simply the most notorious. A system that invites a sense of entitlement and encourages waste is the norm. And all this is paid for by the taxpayer. That’s you, muggins.

Snouts in the Trough is an eye-opening glimpse into the world of unearned privilege, unreasonable expectation and gross extravagance that characterises our political and administrative elite. Yes, the same geniuses who have overseen our slide towards disaster.