More than €10 million was spent by Government Departments when they awarded over 60 contracts to public relations, marketing and advertising consultants last year.
The largest sums were spent on campaigns to publicise issues such as the euro changeover, environmental awareness and electronic voting, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.
The main beneficiaries of the spending were Brindley Advertising, All Ireland Media Ltd, Carr Communications, Drury Communications and QMP D'Arcy.
The Department of Finance spent €1,577,549 on media-related contracts last year, with €1,413,883 of this going on the euro changeover campaign.
All Ireland Media Ltd received €1,246,651 for the purchase of advertising space for the euro changeover. Almost €200,000 was paid to Adept Creative Services Ltd and Carr Communications for advertising and PR services during the campaign.
Meanwhile, the Department of the Environment spent more than €261,750 on publicising the limited introduction of electronic voting in last year's general election and the Nice referendum.
The Departments which exceeded the €1 million mark in spending on media-related contracts were Justice, Environment and Finance. The Department of Agriculture awarded an advertising contract worth an estimated €1.9 million to QMP D'Arcy last year, spread over three years.
Justice spent €2,466,215 on media and advertising last year, and €25,372 on news monitoring services. Arts, Sport and Tourism pays about €550 plus VAT per month to Business and Finance Information Services for the monitoring of newspapers and magazines.
PR firm got €2.47m for State contracts: page 4
