I note the Taoiseach's comments to the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party about the recent election results which he described as devastating. In recent weeks, the Standards in Public Office Commission reprimanded two Ministers for not abiding by the code of conduct for officeholders. In particular, the Ministers in question did not observe the code that stipulates that official facilities should be used only for official purposes.
On a number of occasions during the past 15 to 18 months, I have raised the issue of the communications unit in his Department with the Taoiseach. The unit employs six staff and costs approximately €300,000 to run. The Taoiseach has consistently portrayed this unit as being non-political and has stated that it merely collects information in a factual manner and provides, without comment, a synopsis of the main news bulletins and major newspaper headlines. He stated, "There is no political comment on what I, other Ministers or Opposition spokespersons said."
How does this fit with the description of the functions of the media monitoring staff, annexed to a Department circular seeking staff for a post in the unit, which states that the principle function of the unit is to act as an early warning system to Government about critical and negative media coverage? The official circular states that the unit will be responsible for ensuring that relevant Departments are in a position to respond quickly to such negative media coverage. It further states that staff will need to maintain a constant watching brief on political issues.
There is clearly a conflict between what the Taoiseach has been telling the House and what the circular to staff actually says. This leads one to believe that this is another case of €300,000 being spent for political purposes. Will the Taoiseach agree to an independent assessment of the work of the communications unit, either by the Standards in Public Office Commission or the Comptroller and Auditor General?