Government pays out €20m for spin doctors and press aides

A TOTAL of €20 million will be spent on an army of Government spin doctors and press aides this year, with almost €4 million paid out in expenses claims alone.

New figures show that despite last Wednesday’s painful budget – which saw welfare payments for new 20 to 21-year-old applicants cut in half, the carers’ allowance slashed and disability support curtailed – ministers are still spending a small fortune on PR advice.

Since the start of the year, official documents confirm that 310 advisers, press officers and constituency workers for Ireland’s senior and junior Government ministers have received a massive €16.5m in salaries.