The Taoiseach has denied his department told newspapers to make sponsored ads look like real news.
It follows reports that regional papers were instructed to make advertorials look like independent journalism.
The allegations centre around promoted coverage of the Ireland 2040 development plan.
But Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says there were no directions to make ads look like real news: "I checked up on them today and I can confirm that there was no direction from my department or any official in my department to people or to editors to blur the lines between news and an information campaign."
