The spend by the National Consumer Agency (NCA) of €18,000 on average a month every month for over two and a half years to a public relations company cannot be justified Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesperson, Leo Varadkar TD said today (Sunday).
 
Deputy Varadkar made his comments after media reports highlighted the fact that €562,057 of taxpayers’ funds was paid by the State body despite the fact that it is being wound down.
 
“That this quango needs to spend any amount of money at all on outside PR is a mystery.
 
“The NCA is weak and has very few successes under its belt so much so that it is being closed down and merged with other State bodies. A huge amount of public funds have been wasted on the NCA and this latest information just adds to the impression that scarce cash is being frittered away by a body that is incredibly ineffective in representing consumer.
 
“Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has done little for Irish consumers during her tenure but even she must find it bizarre that a bosy that is being shut down needs PR at all. The Tánaiste must clarify with the NCA why this money was spent and what was achieved by doing so.”