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 The Times Ireland.

“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 Irish Examiner 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.