So just what has the Northern Ireland taxpayer been paying for?

The list of items claimed by MLAs under their office-running allowances is long and fairly predictable.

As well as the basics like rent, rates, staff wages and utility bills, it features TVs, furniture, a wheelie bin, Rentokil, mats, re-decoration, cooker installation, website development, kitchen appliances, room hire, stationery, advertising and office signage. The new Assembly disclosure covers the period 2003/04 to 2007/08.

It follows the release last month of the same details for 2008/09.

The older material contains a smaller range of items funded from the public purse. That's presumably because for most of this time, MLAs could only claim a maximum of £48,000 per year in office costs. The total now stands at £72,660.

The material made public overnight by the Assembly again highlights the commonplace Sinn Fein practice of receiving rental expenses for premises owned by the party. President Gerry Adams is among the MLAs who have made such claims over a number of years.

Two of his party colleagues meanwhile paid their rental expenses to a Sinn Fein-linked company called Sevastapol Developments during the period 2003/04 to 2007/08.