NEUTRALITY COST

WHAT GOVERNMENT SAID:

Answering oral questions in the Dáil on September 27, Leo Varadkar said: ‘This will ensure that the new approach to strategic communications will be cost-neutral. In fact, it is likely to give rise to a significant increase in value for money and a reduction in overall expenditure over time.’

THE REALITY:

In this week’s Budget, announced by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe, €5m was allocated to the Strategic Communications Unit. On the face of it, this would contradict any claim of costneutrality. The Government has argued that because of the efficiencies it will deliver, and the fact that the Taoiseach’s office has reduced its overall expenditure by 2.3%, this makes the SCU cost-neutral. But the 2.3% only represents €856,000 of a reduction. Crucially, savings are currently hypothetical and can’t be either verified or costed.