Former Environment Minister Phil Hogan is at the centre of a fresh controversy, over the multi-million euro bill for consultants at Irish Water.

Documents obtained by RTE appear to show that Mr Hogan signed off on €40 million in consultant costs in December 2012.

In January of this year, more than a year after Hogan signed off on the consultant costs, he said he was unaware that €50 million had been spent on outside consultants.

Hogan has denied the allegation that he was aware of the bills for consultants. Hogan says he signed off on an overall figure to set up the new company.

“There was a robust examination of all the costs associated with the establishment of Irish Water by New Era and the National Development Finance Agency,” Hogan told The Irish Times.

“The figures were then verified by the regulator and I ultimately approved them. All of the costs were approved and independently verified as necessary for the establishment of the new company,” Hogan said.

Phil Hogan is due to appear before a committee on the European Parliament on Thursday of this week for a hearing on approving his nomination as EU Agriculture Commissioner.