A provision of £500,000 is being made in the Vote for my Department in respect of exceptional expenditure arising from Ireland's Presidency of the European Community. The expenditure will include fees of £175,000 approximately for press and public relations personnel at press centres in Dublin, Brussels and Strasbourg and fees for an environmental adviser. The balance of the provision represents contingency provision for the additional meetings, receptions and travel necessary during the Presidency and for special projects in the arts and other areas which may be undertaken during the term of the Presidency in accordance with the practice now current in member states.
Having regard to the additional work of the Presidency and to the importance of providing adequate and comprehensive briefing to the large international media corps of some 1,500 who now cover Community affairs, the existing complement of Government and departmental information staff, whose function is the dissemination of information on normal Government activities, could not adequately deal with the additional matters related to the Presidency at this period of major developments within the Community and in the Community's relations with other countries.
The selection of the press and public relations consultants was on the basis of their professional expertise and experience.
