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.

Some will claim that ministerial advisers are well worth the money and emphasise they would get far more in the private sector. However, the fact that ministers also have working press officers, suggests they are in the game of buying spin rather than substance.

Given the shocking waste of public money on projects which government departments should be policing, it seems ministers are not heeding the expensive advice they receive at taxpayers' expense.