Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 December 2017
516. Deputy Shane Cassells asked the Minister for Health the use of external public relations firms employed by his Department in each year since March 2011; the list of uses of the external public relations firm; the internal Department policy with regard to employing external groups; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54246/17]
View answerBetween March 2011 and December 2014, the Department did not use any external PR services.
Details of external PR firms engaged between 2015 and 2017 are presented in the following table:
|
Year |
Name of Company |
Cost |
Details |
|
2017 |
Hume Brophy |
€114,491 |
Public Relations & Communications Support for European Medicines Agency (EMA) Bid |
|
2016 |
RPS Consulting Engineers Ltd |
€11,826 |
Public consultation process to inform the development of a new National Drugs Strategy. This work has a public relations dimension, as it involves a range of different public activities and events to publicise the consultation process in order to optimise public participation |
|
2015 |
DHR Communications |
€86,100 |
Development of strategy to support communication of the Healthy Ireland Framework and toolkit for Healthy Ireland Council |
It is the policy in my Department only to engage the services of external consultants where it is felt to be appropriate and cost-effective, taking account of Government decisions and policy on the matter.
