THE Government paid out almost €30 million in redundancy payments in the first two months of 2009, latest figures from the department of Social Welfare Department of Social and Family Affairs have shown.

PEOPLE in receipt of rent allowance must be urged to get a better deal from landlords in order to bring down the artificially inflated bill for the taxpayer, Fine Gael spokeswoman on Social and Family Affairs Olwyn Enright has said.

CUTBACKS across other Government departments will be needed if social welfare payments are to be maintained throughout the recession, it was admitted last night.

THE Government has spent in excess of €6 million on mobile phone bills, photographers, media monitoring, entertainment and newspapers this year, figures have revealed.

Michael O’Farrell, Political Reporter