asked the Taoiseach if he will state (a) the total estimated annual cost of the Government Information Bureau, (b) the date on which the person who now holds the post of Director of the Bureau was appointed to the post, (c) the salary and emoluments attached to the post, (d) whether the vacancy was advertised in the public Press, (e) whether the appointment was made by the Civil Service Commissioners, and, if not, on whose recommendation it was made, (f) the qualifications, if any, necessary for this post, and whether journalistic or Press experience was required, (g) the special qualifications, if any, of the person appointed, (h) the post previously held by this person, and (i) the name of the person appointed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Government Information Bureau.
The following are replies to the Deputy's queries:—
(a) The total current annual cost of the salaries of the staff at present serving in the Government Information. Bureau is £2,474; it would not be readily practicable to apportion to the bureau its share of expenditure on such items as telegrams, telephones, messenger and cleaning services, incidental expenses and allied services as are attributable to the Vote for the Department of the Taoiseach as a whole.
(b) 10th September, 1957.
(c) Salary, entering at the minimum, on the scale £995 × 30—£1,130 plus the usual percentage additions (equivalent to £1,255-£1,414 fully inclusive); no other emolument.
(d) No.
(e) The person appointed to the position was not selected for appointment by the Civil Service Commissioners; the appointment was made pursuant to the provisions of Section 13 (3) of the Civil Service Commissioners Act, 1956, on my recommendation.
(f) The qualifications are those generally required of a public relations officer, and, in particular, a knowledge and appreciation of the Government's social and economic policy and of the working and activities of the various Departments of State and branches of public administration, and a sense of news values; a knowledge of the Irish language should, I think, also be regarded as essential; journalistic experience, while desirable, would not be essential in the case of a person otherwise adequately qualified.
(g) The person appointed possessed, in a high degree, all the essential qualifications mentioned above; he had served for four years in my office when Leader of the Opposition, for one year and eight months as an unestablished civil servant as private secretary to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Government when in charge of Oifig na Gaeltachta agus na gCeantar gCúng and for over five months as an unestablished civil servant as administration officer in the Government Information Bureau.
(h) Administration officer in the Government Information Bureau.
(i) Seán Pádraig Ó hAnnracháin.
Is it not a fact at this time of very great financial stringency, that the Taoiseach deliberately displaced the former holder of this post in order to create for a person, a friend and former employee, this relatively high-paid post and further, does he not agree that this is a clear case of political jobbery at its worst?
I am fully responsible for the appointment. I made it, believing that it was in the interests of the country and in the interests of the Government's work that there should be in that post a man who had all the qualifications which have been mentioned and I believe the man appointed is as good as could be found in the country. For that office you want a person who is able to meet people from all parts of the world, a man who knows the history of this country, who knows the work that the various Departments have to do, a man who is courteous and capable of meeting people who come here, able to deal with journalists and give them the information they require. I made the appointment for that reason and for that reason solely.
The short answer is "no," but the Taoiseach knows he is not in a position to make it.
Might I ask the Taoiseach is the gentleman in question writing leading articles for the Irish Press and if he is is it not nearly time he stopped?
I do not think he is writing leading articles——
Does the Taoiseach know?
I do not know.
Will the Taoiseach ask him?
I shall ask him.
If he has been writing them I think he should stop. One man one job.
I agree. I do not think it is true that he is writing articles for the Irish Press and if it is so it will stop.
Can we take it that the previous occupant of this post was unsatisfactory in view of that change that has been made?
First of all the history of the office was this. When we were first in Government, the Information Bureau was established in order to prevent inquiries going from one office to another and to make available to the public, in the quickest possible way and with the least inconvenience and disturbance to the Departments, the information they required. It is essential that in that office you have a person who has the full confidence of the Government, because, very often, in order to be able to deal with questions, decisions have sometimes to be anticipated and information of a very confidential character, which could be harmful from the point of view of the State as well as from the point of view of Government policy, could be indiscreetly revealed. That is essential and it was regarded as such by previous Governments, and the questioner can look back upon some of the history, in which event, he will have no difficulty in understanding.
This is a confidential post, as confidential as any other in the Taoiseach's Department, and I regard it as essential therefore that the occupant of this post should be in a position to do his work with the full confidence not merely of the Taoiseach but of every other Department. I said that, if the position is to exist at all, the person in it will have to enjoy the full confidence of the Government and its Head, so that he may be in a position to give information and deal properly with questions asked.
May we take it the previous incumbent of the post did not have the full confidence of the Government?
The Taoiseach has stressed the necessity for the occupant of the post having such qualifications as integrity, ability and confidence——
Yes.
Is he inferring in his statement that the new appointee has these qualifications and that the former occupant was lacking in these qualifications?
I have no close personal knowledge of the previous occupant — none. I have personal knowledge of the individual who has been appointed. I know from that personal knowledge of the person appointed that he has in every way the ability and discretion necessary for this post.