The Irish senate is costing taxpayers $75,000 for every hour it sits according to a new report.
 
Government plans to abolish the upper house will receive more support than ever after the release of figures outlining the cost of the Senate in 2010.
 
The two houses of the Irish parliament cost almost $200million to run last year with approximately $50million spent on the Senate.
 
The Senate met for a grand total of just 613 hours last year and is under major threat.
 
When the new Senate met for the first time on May 25th, it sat for just two and a half hours, elected a new speaker and then adjourned for a week.
 
The Irish Examiner reports that the new government is committed to abolishing the upper house but some Fine Gael senators want it reformed rather than scrapped.
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A referendum on the future of the Senate is planned within the next two years.
 
Fine Gael senator Paddy Burke, chairman of the upper house, defended the costs involved with the Senate.
 
“There is a price for democracy; this is the second chamber and the commissioners are doing everything possible to reduce costs further,” he said.