Enda Kenny
Question:1 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the functions of the communications unit within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13158/02]
Ceisteanna–Questions. - Departmental Staff.
Enda Kenny
Question:2 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the number of officials who are assigned to the communications unit in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15628/02]
Enda Kenny
Question:3 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the projected total cost for 2002, including salaries, allowances and running costs, of the communications unit in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15629/02]
Enda Kenny
Question:4 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the number of staff vacancies in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13159/02]
Enda Kenny
Question:5 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the special or political advisers appointed or reappointed by him since the recent general election; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14399/02]
Enda Kenny
Question:6 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the duties and responsibilities of the special and political advisers appointed by him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15630/02]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:7 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach the non-established civil servants or contract staff appointed to his Department since the general election; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16384/02]
Ruairí Quinn
Question:8 Mr. Quinn asked the Taoiseach the investigation which has been held into the circumstances in which an official of the Government Information Service made a telephone call under a false name which was broadcast on a radio programme (details supplied); if the head of the Government Information Service's attention was drawn to the fact that the call was being made; if an investigation has been held to determine if similar calls had been made to other radio programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17970/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together. All relate to staff in my Department.
There are six members of staff in the communications unit, all of whom are civil servants. Five are on secondment from other Departments and one staff member is from my Department. A seventh member of staff transferred to the Department of Social and Family Affairs on 11 January 2002 and no replacement has yet been appointed. The total projected 2002 cost for the unit is €262,505. It should be noted that €102,209 of the total 2002 cost is a direct cost to my Department. The average cost to the other five Departments involved is €32,059.
The unit provides a media information service to Ministers and their Departments. It furnishes news updates and transcripts which ensure that Departments are kept informed in a fast and efficient manner of relevant news developments. It is conservatively estimated that in a full year it saves Departments approximately €175,000.
The political advisers appointed to my Department since the recent general election remain broadly the same as before with some changes in personnel. Dr. Martin Mansergh and Mr. Peter MacDonagh have resigned. I have appointed Mr. Joe Lennon, former Government press secretary, as special adviser. He is replaced by Ms Mandy Johnston as Government press secretary. Mr. Iarla Mongey continues to be deputy Government press secretary and head of the GIS. In addition, Mr. Carl Gibney has been appointed as special adviser to the Government Chief Whip to replace Mr. Frank Lahiffe. A list of current special advisers will be circulated in the Official Report.
There has been no increase in the number of special advisers who assist me in dealing with the complexities and volume of Government business. Under the current Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government, there are a total of 33 politically appointed programme managers, special advisers and press secretaries who assist the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Ministers across all Departments. Of these, seven are civil servants. This compares with 31 under the last Government, seven of whom were civil servants, and 55 under the rainbow Government, of whom one was a civil servant. A list of all non-established and contract staff in my Department will also be circulated. In addition, a number of staff employed have been employed on an unestablished basis in the grades of administrative officer and cleaner.
Following the incident to which Deputy Quinn refers, an official in my Department was suspended from his duties pending an investigation under the Civil Service disciplinary code. The Deputy will appreciate that pending the outcome of the investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further.
There are five vacancies at present in my Department. These are at administrative officer, staff officer and clerical officer level. Recruitment to fill these vacancies is in line with normal Civil Service procedures. Staff are assigned by the Civil Service Commission.
Special Advisers
|
Name |
Title |
|
Gerry Hickey |
Programme Manager and Special Adviser |
|
Gerry Howlin |
Special Adviser |
|
Una Claffey |
Special Adviser |
|
Barbara Jones (civil servant) |
Special Adviser |
|
Brian Murphy |
Special Adviser |
|
Joe Lennon |
Special Adviser |
|
Katherine Bulbulia |
Programme Manager to Tánaiste |
Non-Established and Contract Staff
|
Name |
Title |
|
Sean Nolan (civil servant) |
Personal Assistant |
|
Yvonne Graham (civil servant) |
Personal Assistant |
|
Olive Melvin (civil servant) |
Personal Assistant |
|
Sarah McLoughlin |
Personal Assistant |
|
Evelyn Eager |
Personal Assistant |
|
Denise Kavanagh (civil servant) |
Personal Assistant |
|
Carl Gibney |
Special Adviser to Minister of State and Chief Whip |
|
Averil Power |
Personal Assistant to Minister of State and Chief Whip |
|
Nuala Redmond |
Personal Secretary to Minister of State and Chief Whip |
|
Ciara Furlong |
Personal Secretary to Minister of State for European affairs |
|
Frank Worley |
Usher (seconded from Leinster House) |
*Peter MacDonagh left my Department with effect from 21 June 2002
**Cyprian Brady left my Department with effect from 26 July 2002.
I thank the Taoiseach for his comprehensive reply in respect of the communications unit. As regards the incident that occurred following the publication of the interim report of the Flood tribunal, is it usual for personnel from the Department of the Taoiseach to ring radio shows? In the context of the investigation being carried out, has the Taoiseach determined who ordered that phone call to be made?
Will the Taoiseach confirm whether the information collected by the communications unit for the use of Ministers and their Departments is made available to the Fianna Fáil Party, as distinct from Departments?
As regards the Deputy's first question, it was totally improper for the individual to do what he did. It was totally against the rules and ran counter to the impartiality of the Civil Service. To the best of my knowledge, the individual acted on his own behalf and has stated so. He has been contacted in writing and, in accordance with the Civil Service regulations, he has a period in which to furnish a reply before the disciplinary hearing. However, it is totally improper and incorrect for a person to act in that way. Needless to say, it was not done with my approval or the approval of anyone within the Department.
As regards the second matter raised by the Deputy, the communications unit is totally separate from the Government Information Service's press unit, and the information it garners is only for Ministers and Departments. It is staffed only by civil servants and has no relationship with Fianna Fáil; such a relationship would be totally improper.
Was the communications unit suspended during the course of the recent general election or did it continue its activities then? Would the communications unit have any particular role in monitoring statements made by members of the opposition parties on local radio or elsewhere?
I am sure it did.
I am sure the Minister for Defence, Deputy Michael Smith, would have a particular interest in this.
During the general election the communications unit continued to do its work, sending information to Ministers and to Departments. Needless to say, it played no role – nor was it used – as a communications unit by the government parties during the election campaign. During the general election the government parties had their own communications units. The communications unit monitors the main news bulletins on RTE Radio 1, Lite FM, FM 104, 98FM, Today FM, Newstalk 106 and INN/County Sound. It produces a fairly short, one or two-line synopsis of all the issues on the news programmes, which goes to Departments. The communications unit provides transcripts, tapes or other information as required by Departments, rather than obtaining them from outside agencies as happened prior to this. The unit's role is to take such information straight from radio news programmes, listing the main items.
The information supplied by the unit has been sought under the Freedom of Information Act on numerous occasions, and formed the basis of a detailed reply to a parliamentary question quite recently. Therefore, the information produced by the communications unit is in the public domain.
Since it is so impartial, could the work of the information unit be shared among all political parties? Would the Taoiseach be willing to have that inane information circulated to all political parties so we can all be informed of the topics of concern on each of the radio stations?
Arising out of the Taoiseach's response to Question No. 8, are there broader inquiries going on within the GIS to ascertain if there were other instances where established civil servants made partisan telephone calls to radio stations on behalf of the Government parties or whether the individual concerned had made previous such telephone calls? When did the head of the GIS become aware of this telephone call, and how and when did the Taoiseach become aware of it?
To take the second question first, when the personnel section of the Department was made aware of it, it immediately suspended the official and informed the head of the GIS and me. I was down the country at the time and they informed me immediately. On their authority, the head of personnel suspended the individual.
There is no wider investigation or examination, although there is an examination, as part of the disciplinary code, to see if this individual was involved in a similar practice on any other occasion. That is part of the disciplinary matter and, of course, all that will have to be taken into account, under the Civil Service written procedures, in determining what action is taken against the individual involved.
To answer the first question, it is a service. Previously the Government of the day used the services of outside contractors to provide scripts or recordings of programmes. It was a service for which they were paid and there were a number of people in that business.
The communications unit replaces that service. The information goes to a few hundred people in Departments within the Government system. By and large, these are officials other than the members of the Government. Therefore, it is a service to the Government and to Departments. It is not a service to the political system. Individual press offices undertake that particular service for political parties. On that basis it would not be proper for the communications unit to supply that information to the entire political system.
If anyone looked at the documentation, he or she would see that it does no more than provide a service to Departments. It is done without spin, providing nothing other than factual information on what is on the news every day.
Will the Taoiseach confirm that the communications unit monitors regional radio stations because a number of weeks ago a Fianna Fáil councillor advised people to vote "No" in the Nice referendum on the basis that the Taoiseach did not appoint an individual from his locality to the Seanad? It had nothing to do with the Nice referendum, but perhaps these statements should also be monitored by the communications unit.
One of the Taoiseach's key advisers, a man who has given considerable and detailed expertise to the country in terms of our dealings with Northern Ireland, was elected to the Seanad. I understand that his retirement from the political advisory role was voluntary. Was the golden handshake, estimated at €46,000, in accordance with normal procedures?
His severance arrangement was paid in the normal way, as it would be to anybody, but that is because he ceased his contract. He is now entirely out of the system.
Unfortunately even my party's press office does not monitor the local news in County Mayo so I could get the information on that councillor who is aggrieved, but I have a few such colleagues.
Does the Taoiseach have before him a ball-park figure of the total cost of all the non-established civil servants and contract staff employed by his Department?
I think I answered a parliamentary question on that matter recently.
Perhaps the Taoiseach could forward the information to me.
The schedule is with the reply to the question but it does not include the money value. I will forward the information to the Deputy.
Can the Taoiseach reaffirm the numbers employed in the Government Information Service? Can the information relating to the overall cost of the running of that service be made available?
The overall cost does not arise out of the eight questions submitted.
I gave the figure which the Deputy requires. The total projected cost of the unit for 2002 is €262,505. It is conservatively estimated that in a full year it saves Departments approximately €175,000.
A very clever actuary worked that out.
It is making a profit.
Those are probably the old figures for the cost of old transcripts. The updated figure is probably far more than €175,000. However, I do not interfere with the information given to me in replies to parliamentary questions. I merely pass it on to the House.