Bernard Allen
Question:37 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Finance the reason the Government Supplies Agency has stopped the circulation of the debates of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann to all the embassies.
Written Answers. - Official Reports Distribution.
The Government decided on 1 August 1989 that all services, including publications, provided by the Government Supplies Agency would operate on a repayment basis with effect from 1 January 1990.
The position before 1 January 1990 had been that the cost of publications was borne on the Vote for the Office of Public Works.
No moneys, therefore, are available within the Vote for the Office of Public Works to fund the cost of free issues of the Dáil and Seanad Official Reports to embassies.
As I indicated when replying to a similar question 19 June 1990, five embassies agreed to pay subscription charges in 1990 for copies of Dáil and Seanad Official Reports while 13 other embassies which had received the publications free of charge in 1989 did not apply for inclusion on the agency's 1990 subscription list.
The total annual cost of supplying the Official Reports to all embassies in Dublin would have been £5,740.