The department said the issues were not the fault of any of the individuals affected.

The official use of diplomatic bags came under scrutiny in 2022 after it emerged that they had been deployed to send novelty socks

The highest number of posts were as ‘temporary clerical officers’ where 2,168 candidates managed to get a job but never arrived

Nearly two-thirds of all the payments, in total €1.44 million, were made to individuals that had retired from the civil service or the public sector.