Referendum Commission spent €2.7m on adverts
Figures obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal the commission’s spending on advertising, legal costs, design and administrative expenses.
The commission, set up in March and chaired by High Court Judge Iarfhlaith O’Neill, submitted a breakdown on its expenditure to the Department of Foreign Affairs last week.
The amount spent on advertising was €547,228 for television and €221,678 for radio.
Online advertising cost €57,611, more then treble the amounts spent by Referendum Commissions on internet campaigning during previous referendum votes in 2002 and 2004.
Advertising by the commission on the Lisbon treaty in the press and newspapers amounted to €1,898,211. Outdoor advertisements, including posters and billboard notices, cost €709,028.
The breakdown of the expenditure was sent to Iveagh House last Wednesday. A full report by the Referendum Commission on its activities must be submitted to the Minister for the Environment by December 12, six months after the vote.
Legal advice used by the commission, including from solicitors firm A&L Goodbody cost another €47,405.
Printing and design of publications cost another €357,821. Part of the design was done by DMH, a company linked to Murray Consultants.
An Post delivered 2.2 million handbooks with information on the referendum to every household in the country, which cost another €1,042,317.
Translating material into Irish for the commission and its information campaign cost €3,608.
