Taxpayer funded RTÉ used almost €60,000 for drinks for their three top chat shows: The Late Late Show, The Ray D’Arcy Show, and Saturday Night with Miriam.
The expenses were revealed under the under the Freedom of Information Act. However, the State broadcaster said it would be an “overly burdensome task” to give a breakdown of how much was spent on alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
A spokesperson said: “For all our entertainment shows audience members and guests are offered a small amount of complimentary refreshments (both alcohol and non alcohol) on arrival to RTE.
“Every week these shows will cater for over 200 audience members along with numerous guests and musical acts so the weekly costs per head is small when this is taken into account.”
A total of €157,446 was spent on guests on the three chat shows in 2015.
JThe RTÉ spokesperson added: “We pay for guests to appear in prime time programmes. If the guest is promoting a film or album no fee is usually paid.”