Vol. 442 No. 1
5 Mr. Rabbitte asked the asked the Taoiseach, in regard to the revised Estimates for 1994, the reasons for the 96 per cent increase in the allocation for information and public relations services for his Department; the purposes for which this money will be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The increase referred to by the Deputy arises from the provision of £100,000 for the Government's Communicating Europe initiative as announced in the 1994 budget.
The aim of Communicating Europe is to raise the levels of awareness and debate in Ireland on European issues and to address the public's "comprehension deficit" which it is generally agreed exists in this area. I launched the initiative on 18 February 1994 and I am developing it with the assistance of a task force which is to report by July 1994 with recommendations on ways of addressing the "comprehension deficit". In addition to the preparation of its report, the task force is pursuing a range of specific initiatives designed to enhance awareness and understanding of European issues, including measures to increase European awareness in our schools; a series of national and regional conferences on topical European issues; and the preparation of accessible and readable information on European funding. I should add that in the Programme for Competitiveness and Work, the parties to the programme endorsed the Communicating Europe initiative.
I am sorry the Taoiseach left the House because he confused this issue last week when he referred to PR consultants on the matter of his appearance before the Beef Tribunal when we were talking about economic consultants. As a result he inadvertently misled the House and the public into believing that he discharged his own fees when he appeared before the Beef Tribunal as a politician. That was not the case; for the entire duration of the Beef Tribunal they were discharged by the taxpayer. He discharged his fees when he appeared in a personal capacity.
Questions, please.
Will the Minister of State define what is meant by a "comprehension deficit"? I have heard about the charismatic deficit and other deficits. Does the Minister of State agree that the democratic deficit — not the comprehension deficit — should be tackled?
The Taoiseach answered the question he was asked by the Deputy. This question relates to a particular subhead. The Deputy will appreciate, as one of the candidates in the forthcoming European elections, that there is a problem in increasing awareness of what is happening in Europe. In a recent survey 65 per cent of the public felt they were not being adequately informed about what was happening there. It is obvious that there is a comprehension deficit. A sum of £100,000 has been allocated for this initiative and the task force will report by the end of July. This work is useful. We are consulting the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Irish Council of the European Movement and the Institute of European Affairs and compiling an inventory. Yesterday the Deputy attended the launch of the NSSB initiative in this area. This problem is being encountered throughout Europe also. Commissioner de Pinheiro visited Ireland recently and met the task force. He said that this initiative could serve as a prototype for other members of the European Union.
Is the Minister of State making a distinction between an information deficit and a comprehension deficit and not implying that there is a shortage of paper, rather that there has been a failure to communicate how decisions are made in the European Union? Does he agree, as I suggested earlier to the Taoiseach, that a debate on the appointment of the President of the Commission would be one way of clarifying for the public how the European Union operates? It would also identify the issues people should concern themselves with when making decisions about Europe and the operation of a democratic system would bridge the comprehension deficit.
There is a need to address the information deficit and the comprehension deficit. A series of conferences will be held throughout the country and in 1996 an intergovernmental conference will be held to debate major issues. The purpose of this initiative is to ensure that we have a balanced debate, not to impart information. The public will be allowed to participate at every level as provided for in the remit of the task force. The Deputy mentioned that we should have a debate. Since the Government was formed the Committee on Foreign Affairs has been very active. The Government is addressing this matter in the best way possible and, as the Taoiseach said, if there is a need for a debate on the appointment of the President of the Commission he will not be found wanting.
Is the Minister of State aware that there is growing public concern about the payment of fees to consultants and public relations companies in commissioning reports? Will he confirm that proper tendering procedures will be adhered to before any money is expended under this heading and does he agree that the Comptroller and Auditor General should have a role in restoring probity? Will he assure the House that this will not be used as a slush fund for European Parliament candidates?
We are having an extension of the subject matter of this question.
We are. We can do only a certain amount with a budget of £100,000. We are using this money wisely and I will be delighted to give the Deputy a breakdown.
I wish to raise the question of compliance. Does the Minister of State agree that we are in breach of many EU Directives? I tabled a series of questions to each Government Department relating to the issue of compliance with EU Directives, including those for which the date of transposition into Irish law has passed, and the replies make sorry reading. Does the Minister of State agree that the Government should be just as interested in the issue of compliance with EU Directives as in the Communicating Europe initiative?
There is a problem in this area. I chair the interdepartmental committee dealing with this issue. It has made contact with those Departments which have fallen behind.
The Minister of State said that in a recent survey 65 per cent of the public felt they were not being adequately informed about what was happening in the European Union. It is my experience that 65 per cent of the candidates in the European elections are not being adequately informed.
Come to my office.
How will this money be spent? Will consultants be recruited and normal procedures adhered to? For example, will they have to provide tax clearance certificates in advance and will public tendering procedures be adhered to?
The sum of £100,000 will be used in organising conferences etc. The European Parliament organised a seminar recently and we contributed a sum of money to meet the cost involved. In co-operation with the Commission I organised a conference on the White Paper on Unemployment. We have been allocating small sums of money for various initiatives and I will be glad to tell the Deputy where every single penny of this £100,000 was spent. It was well spent. I hope it is recognised that there is a need to do this and the commissioner supports what we are doing.
Does the Minister of State agree that the proliferation of red tape in relation to the directives issued from Brussels adds to the comprehension deficit? The American Declaration of Independence consisted of a mere 100 words whereas a directive relating to duck eggs issued from Brussels two years ago consisted of over 100,000 words.
When I launched this initiative I said that there was a need to reduce the use of jargon and Eurospeak. We need to learn from our experience in drafting the Maastricht Treaty and produce more readable documents. Another initiative we will be taking will be to hold conferences in the regions, including the west, but not before the European elections — we do not want to interfere with the Deputy's work.
On the comprehension deficit, have any lessons been learned from previous experiences of allocating public funds in, for example, referendum campaigns, so as to avoid a repeat of such spending of public funds and ensure that information is not simply intelligible but fair to all sides?
The emphasis is on engaging citizens in a two-way dialogue, and organisations throughout the country will be involved. The Deputy can be assured that we are conscious of the need for a balanced approach to this initiative.
I disagree with my colleague Deputy Mitchell in that I do not think any of this money should be used to give a crash course to Government candidates in the forthcoming elections. Could some of this money be made available to non-governmental organisations to hold public hearings on, for example, issues relating to the 1996 review? Has the Minister discovered any difference in the comprehension deficit as between urban areas and provincial Ireland? Will the campaign involve advertising on the public broadcasting media? I did not hear the Minister's reply to the question of the involvement of outside consultants and non-Civil Service personnel. If they are involved, on what terms are they involved?
Non-governmental organisations will be involved but I will not be in a position to give a full report until I receive a submission from the task force on which there are representatives of the Commission, the Parliament, the Irish Council of the European Movement, the Institute of European Affairs and other experts in this area. The purpose is to involve non-governmental organisations, including bodies such as the Irish Council of the European Movement, a pro-Europe organisation. We will welcome the views of any interested organisation and I have been contacted by many organisations who have been working in this area and are delighted to be involved. The main thrust of this initiative is pro-Europe which reflects the views of the majority of Members including, I presume, those of Deputy Rabbitte.
On advertisements, we will be seeking the views of members of the public. If they wish, they can have an input into the work of the task force. There is little that can be done with £100,000. The initiative, which is all-inclusive, simply involves organisations active in this area and mainly pro-European. However, the process will certainly include those who hold a different view.
Is the need greater in urban areas?
Interesting information has been made available by expert pollsters which points to discrepancies between certain parts of the urban areas called working classes areas or areas of high unemployment and more advantaged areas. There is information about the farming community and it will be appreciated that farmers are probably the best informed about Europe. I will make all this information available. However, the detailed report is not available and I am imparting some of the information that has been made available to me. I look forward to publishing the report on time and members of the European Parliament will get the first copies.
