Spin costs - Money is wasted on words

HOW much spin can you buy for over €3 million? Seemingly a lot, since that's the Government's bill for special advisers and press consultants.

No doubt ministers will argue the number of advisers has been reduced. But the others still earn big money, particularly the Taoiseach's programme manager Gerry Hickey who gets a whopping €195,000.

That's more than the Taoiseach's own salary of €150,178, which is topped up comfortably by his TD's income of €92,000.