asked the Minister for the Public Service if he authorised or is aware of the appointment of public relations/press information officers for each Minister and Minister of State; if he will give details of each appointment indicating the salaries being paid to individuals or firms; and the public moneys allocated at present for this purpose.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Appointment of Public Relations Officers.
The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the form of a tabular statement which, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to circulate with the Official Report.
The following is the statement:
Public relations/press information officer appointments
Department/Office |
Details of appointment |
Annual Salaries/fees |
|
£ |
|||
Taoiseach |
Government Press Secretary — appointed for duration of present Government |
21,220 |
|
Head of Government Information Services —appointed for duration of present Government |
18,000 |
||
Other staff of Government Information Services |
133,005 |
||
1 Assistant Director |
|||
5 Press Officers |
|||
1 Librarian |
|||
1 Personal Secretary to Government Press Secretary |
|||
1 Superintendent of Typists |
|||
4 Typists |
|||
Public Works |
Assistant Principal carrying out Information Officer duties |
13,236 |
|
Justice |
Special adviser performing most of duties of Information Officer — appointed August 1981 |
13,308 |
|
Education |
Information Officer — on secondment from Department of Taoiseach since August 1981 |
21,220 |
|
Fisheries and Forestry |
Publicity Officer — on contract basis since February 1981 |
12,046 |
|
Agriculture |
Information Branch |
Part-time |
37,500 |
1 Assistant Principal |
|||
1 Higher Executive Officer |
|||
1 Executive Officer |
|||
1 Staff Officer |
|||
1 Clerical Officer |
|||
2 Clerical Assistants |
|||
Labour |
Information Officer — appointed June 1967 |
13,308 |
|
Trade, Commerce and Tourism |
Information Officer — appointed December 1972 |
13,308 |
|
Executive Officer |
5,719 |
||
Posts and Telegraphs |
1 Information Officer — appointed October 1979 |
12,000 |
|
1 Journalist (currently vacant) |
|||
1 Higher Executive Officer |
19,400 |
||
1 Clerical Officer |
|||
1 Clerical Assistant |
|||
Public Relations of Ireland Ltd. engaged since November 1981 |
12,000 |
||
Defence |
Information Officer — appointed February 1980 |
13,308 |
|
Foreign affairs |
Assistant Secretary (part-time) |
228,000 |
|
Information Section |
|||
2 Counsellors |
|||
2 First Secretaries |
|||
1 Assistant Principal |
|||
2 Third Secretaries |
|||
1 Executive Officer |
|||
2 Clerical Officers |
|||
6 Clerical Assistants |
|||
Abroad |
|||
2 First Secretaries |
London |
||
1 Third Secretary |
|||
5 First Secretaries (New York, Washington, Paris, Bonn, Brussels) |
|||
Social Welfare |
1 Information Officer (shared with Department of Health) |
||
Information Section |
55,577 |
||
1 Principal |
Part-time |
||
1 Assistant Principal |
|||
1 Higher Executive Officer |
|||
2 Executive Officers |
|||
1 Clerical Officer |
|||
4 Clerical Assistants |
|||
Health |
Information Officer — appointed in April 1980 |
||
(shared with Department of Social Welfare) |
12,000 |
||
Industry and Energy |
Information/Publicity Officer — appointed February 1980 |
16,183 |
|
Environment |
Information Officer — appointed October 1980 |
11,626 |
|
Public Relations of Ireland Ltd. — engaged since November 1981 |
12,000 |
||
Total Cost |
693,964 |
Dates of appointment are not readily available in cases where information sections are staffed by general grades of Departments/Offices.
Could the Minister give me some idea of the numbers involved?
It is quite a lengthy statement and I should prefer to let the Deputy have a copy of it.
Surely there could not be more public relations officers than Ministers. That would be an outrageous situation.
Does it exceed the previous Government's total of eight?
I would say it does.
In view of the fact that there are 3,881 unfilled vacancies in the civil service, how can the Government justify so many appointments in contravention of the embargo which applies?
If the Deputy had been here earlier he would have learned that the number of vacancies is less now than on 1 July last.