TDs were paid expenses of over half a million euro in August - a month during which the Dáil didn't sit once.
Records published by the Oireachtas show TDs were paid over €528,000 to cover their travel costs and the costs of running their office in August.
The records also show that TDs only attended Leinster House a total of 269 times throughout the month - an average of 1.5 times per TD for the entire month.
Meanwhile Senators were paid allowances of over nearly €150,000 for August - a month when the Seanad had only one day of business, a debate on overturning Ireland's law on organ transplants.
Travel and 'public representation' allowances are paid in equal instalments throughout the year, meaning the allowances don't necessarily reflect how busy a politician might be within a particular month.
The public representation allowance is also aimed at covering the costs of running a constituency office, which would also continue to operate through August even though the Oireachtas is in recess.
Only one TD (Labour's Eamonn Maloney) and four senators - Ivana Bacik (Labour), Hildegarde Naughton (FG), and independents John Crown and Fiach Mac Conghail - declined to draw any allowances for the month.
