The highest-paid member of the Taoiseach's "spin machine", programme manager Mr Gerry Hickey, is on an annual salary of €172,982 - higher than the €158,567 paid to Government Ministers.
In total, the new Government's team of policy and press advisers will cost more than €2 million a year.Between them, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Ministers and the Attorney General have employed a total of 31 special or press advisers since early June.
The majority of the advisers also served the last government and the appointments are in addition to the civil servant-staffed press offices already serving Ministers in each Department.
The Government Information Service said that it could not supply a full list of salaries for the advisers since all of the new contracts had not yet been finalised.
But with figures supplied for the cost of all of Mr Ahern's and part of Ms Harney's "kitchen cabinets", and an estimate that other ministerial advisers will earn an average of €60,000 each, the total cost of "spin doctors" is in the region of €2 million a year.
The Taoiseach's "spin" machine eats up more than €600,000 of taxpayers' money.
After Mr Hickey, the next highest paid on the Taoiseach's team is the special adviser on communications and former Government Press Secretary, Mr Joe Lennon, who earns €100,200. He is followed by special adviser Ms Una Claffey, who is paid €98,738 a year. The other special adviser, Mr Gerry Howlin, earns €87,319.
The Government Press Secretary, Ms Mandy Johnston, earns €87,319, while the special adviser to the Ministers of State at the Taoiseach's Department, Mr Brian Murphy, earns €63,908.