Vol. 458 No. 1
96 Mr. Cowen asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry the number and grades of staff employed in his Department's information section since he took office; the cost thereof; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16602/95]
The following officers are employed in my Department's information section: one assistant principal officer, one higher executive officer, three executive officers, one clerical assistant and one clerical assistant-typist. The rates of salary applicable to each of these officers is available in the current edition of the State Directory. Three of these officers deal mainly with press queries from the daily papers, the 40-plus provincial papers and up to 20 local radio stations. The information section also deals with arrangements for departmental advertisements, the publication of reports and booklets, State entertainment, the up-coming Presidency of the EU and other major conferences, general and grant-in-aid payments to Macra na Feirme, Muintir na Tíre, etc., ministerial speeches, forewords for local papers and other publications, queries from State bodies and the general public on agriculture, food and forestry matters.
The numbers employed in my Department's information section have not increased since the early 1980s despite a major increase in the workload.
