The purpose of having a public relations strategy, whether in a Department or in a private sector company, is to communicate messages effectively so that they are listened to, heard and understood. The complexity and constant development of the media means that it is important to be able to rely on professionals who have knowledge and understanding of current practice within the industry. While civil servants can and often have developed skills in providing information for media purposes, this cannot be compared with the understanding provided by a specialist operating within the media.
There has been some criticism of my Department and of me as Minister for use of public relations consultants. I find it hard to understand the basis for this criticism. My predecessors, no matter what their political background, have used the services of public relations companies in the past. The current contract with Drury Communications was awarded following a competitive tendering Limited process and costs approximately £60,000.
This contract is for the provision of public relations advice and support for 12 months. Senators will be interested to note that when the Deputy Leader of Senator Gallagher's party was Minister for Health in 1994, over £24,000 was paid by his Department to the same company for approximately two months work but Senator Gallagher, then a Deputy, was not at all concerned despite the fact that this 1994 figure was published by way of reply to a parliamentary question in 1994. There is an obvious and serious lack of consistency in Senator Gallagher's approach to this matter, but we should not be surprised by this.
It is interesting to note also that similar contracts during the period of office of Deputy Michael Noonan for the first six months of 1997, at which time Senator Gallagher's party was in Government, cost approximately £34,500 in total between two companies. These figures, therefore, clearly make a nonsense of Senator Gallagher's recent claim that the amount of money spent on public relations advice and support by the Department of Health and Children during my time as Minister is grossly in excess of anything that might have been spent by his colleagues while in Government.
The figure of £60,000 referred to above provides very good value, especially when taken in the context of an overall annual health budget of approximately £3 billion. It represents 0.002 per cent of total expenditure.
There has been an attempt to suggest that the money being spent on public relations support is somehow depriving certain client groups of services. The example I have heard quoted concerns respite services for those with mental handicap. I want to nail that lie. Senators will be aware that recently I announced a four year capital programme of £30 million to provide the day, residential and respite services needed for those with mental handicap. This is the first time such a multi-annual capital programme has been dedicated to meeting the needs of those with mental handicap. I have consistently stated my personal commitment to providing the additional services required by those with mental handicap in line with the needs outlined in "An Assessment of Need for Services to Persons with a Mental Handicap, 1997-2001".
In relation to total expenditure on health services, there has never been more money spent on direct delivery of health services to the public than I have provided since my appointment as Minister for Health and Children. The allocations to health boards for 1998 represent a 7 per cent increase over funding provided in 1997.
In an effort to strengthen the existing media skills within the Department, Drurys Communication have also carried out a specific project which involved auditing the departmental media relations, internal communications and operating procedures. This project, which is separate from the ongoing advice provided by Drurys Communication, cost £24,000. The press audit was centred in the press office. When I took up office as Minister for Health and Children I found that the press office in my Department was staffed by just two executive officers which was a reduction in the number of staff in that office under the previous Government. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly acknowledge the exceptional work undertaken by these two officers who, at times, have had to function under very difficult circumstances. The audit was commissioned by my Department in the context of relatively junior officers undertaking the press function in my Department as compared with other Departments and with a view to identifying the support structure required for these officers.
Public relations consultants are used to help get the message across clearly, to help make complex medical information comprehensible for the lay person, to increase awareness about services and to ensure that risks are understood. They are also there to contribute to changes in behaviour which will promote good health. In the context of smoking, for example, this could have a significant benefit in cost terms since it is tentatively estimated that the cost of treating smoking related illnesses is approximately £80 to £100 million. The overall purpose of using public relations consultants is to contribute to the Department's aim of promoting good health and preventing ill health.
The facts as I have outlined them, show that using public relations advisers is a long standing practice used by successive Governments over the years. Also, the use of such firms by the Department of Health and Children during my time as Minister is no more extensive and clearly more cost effective than during the time of some of Senator Gallagher's colleagues.
In relation to the cost of employing other people in my office from outside the Civil Service, I challenge Senator Gallagher and anyone else, here and now, to examine such costs in relation to the office I hold now or the costs in relation to previous public offices I have held, all of which costs have been put into the public domain in detailed format. He should then compare those costs with those his colleagues incurred when in Government in recruiting into their offices their friends and colleagues from outside the Civil Service and I have no doubt that he would find such an exercise instructive. However, I do not expect him to shout from the rooftops when those results come forward.
Senator Gallagher's motives in raising this motion on the Adjournment are seriously questionable. It is a cheap political stunt which has rebounded on him.
The Seanad adjourned at 8.20 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 26 March 1998.
