Mary Coughlan
Question:17 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Social Welfare whether confidential State material has been made available to members of his personal research unit located in his Department. [12933/96]
Written Answers. - Personal Research Unit.
The persons employed in the research unit located in my Department have the standard contract of employment which applies to such temporary staff. That is, each of them holds the status of an unestablished civil servant, and as such each of them has signed the Official Secrets Act.
As I outlined to the Dáil on 14 February this year, individual members of the research unit may, under my direction and on my behalf, be asked by me to analyse, and report to me on matters of a confidential nature on a case by case basis. The procedures for dealing with confidential material apply equally to established and unestablished staff. Specific procedures are set out in the Government Procedure Instructions, 1983, as amended.