Government advertising propaganda
Members sparred over whether the self-employed advertising campaign was partisan propaganda and whether public money was being wasted on Government branding.
This is blatant political propaganda.
Comment on this
Senator McDowell was good at spending it when he was in the Department of Justice and Equality.
Comment on this
For many years there has been a set of conventions on departmental advertising, that they are not used for political purposes, that they do not glorify individual Ministers and that they are factual and non-propagandistic. The advertisement breached every one of those principles. It should be withdrawn from RTÉ. It is a breach of the Government's duty not to spend taxpayers' money on political propaganda. The phrase "Government of Ireland initiative" and the reference to the sponsoring Department is clearly a new departure which should be roundly condemned. The €5 million that has been wasted on this so-called unit should be spent on something else. There are many other candidates for that expenditure.