Taoiseach's department increases spend on advertising by 250%
The amount spent on advertising by the Taoiseach's department went up by over 250% last year.
There are reports this morning that it increased from €71,000 in 2017 to €1.8 million the following year.
The government's Strategic Communications Unit was launched in early 2018 but wound down a few months later after it was accused of being a spin unit for Leo Varadkar.
The figures show a total of €7 million was spent on social media, online and print advertising and marketing by government departments last year, according to .
“It is evident to me, as something established on my watch, we are now at a point that it has become a distraction to the workings of Government,” the Taoiseach told the last year.
“If I am spending 15% or 20% of my time dealing with queries about a communications unit in my department, that is distracting me from the things I think are much more important,” he added.
