State communication unit got preview of newspaper advertorial, emails show

The government’s controversial communications unit was given an advance preview of how one of the Project Ireland 2040 advertorials in a national newspaper would be displayed, new emails show.

The Department of the Taoiseach’s Strategic Communications Unit (SCU) has been forced to wind-down following a controversy about the paid-for content in national and regional newspapers promoting the national development plan earlier this year.

The government has insisted that the SCU did not have ...