In total 110 people and private companies have been awarded money to campaign for or against the EU’s treaty with Ukraine ahead of next month’s referendum on April 6.

The committee had €2m to allocate to campaigners. Companies and institutions could claim up to €50,000, private individuals €5,000.

The way the money was being awarded hit the headlines last month when it emerged a private company had been given €47,000 to print toilet paper with anti-treaty statements.

‘Spreading the money between 110 groups will result in a highly differentiated campaign,’Erik van Bruggen of campaign bureau BKB told broadcaster Nos. ‘In the main it works better if you have a strong ‘for’ and a strong ‘anti’ campaign.’

Referendum committee chairwoman Medy van der Laan said the subsidies had been ‘neatly divided’ between campaigners who are for, against or neutral on the referendum. ‘That means the debate will be balanced,’ she said.

Four political parties – D66, Groenlinks, the youth wing of the Labour party and the pro-animal PvdD – have won money for their campaigns.

According to the Nos, a ‘notable’ number of limited companies have won money. Aside from the controversial toilet rolls, a company called Val de Cecina BV has been awarded €42,250 to run a neutral campaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The company also owns a commercial website advising people how to vote, Nos said.

Among the more off the wall initiatives, My Party Service BV has been given €50,000 to hand out flyers and hot stroopwafel biscuits in support of the yes campaign.

Debate

The names of private individuals who have been awarded money have not been made public.

Van Bruggen said he is surprised so many private firms have been given grants. ‘Given that the subsidy is supposed to generate public debate, you would expect that the companies had to show they had broader support,’ he said.

Van der Laan said the referendum committee would be able to claw back money from campaigners if it had been wrongly spent.