Government departments spend some €600,000 each year on newspapers for key personnel.
According to figures released by all 15 departments, a total of €628,660.10 is spent on Irish national daily newspapers, some international dailies and on press cutting services for articles of particular interest to specific departments.
The figures were released in response to parliamentary questions by Fine Gael TD for Westmeath Paul McGrath.
He asked Ministers if Irish daily papers were made available online for staff and the number of staff at various grades who received copies of newspapers that were also available online.
The Department of Education spends most on newspapers at €85,788 followed by the Department of Justice which spends €83,303.77 with the Department of Foreign Affairs third with a bill of €76,705.31.
The Department of Defence spends least according to its figures, with the cost of newspaper purchases at €9,332.73. Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism has the second lowest spend at €11,600.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said Irish national daily newspapers are not made available online to staff but the feasibility of online access is being investigated.
A total of 194 department staff from higher executive officer upwards, receive a daily newspaper and 50 staff receive more than one paper.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said all staff had internet access to any non-subscription online service, but online availability varied from paper to paper.
Newspapers are distributed to up to 102 personnel at its headquarters, but Mr Ahern said the department operates a "circulation list" system where officials forward newspapers to the next officer on the list.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said that typically 84 of the more than 700 staff in the department received one of the Irish daily newspapers and 40 received two or more such newspapers.
