Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 27 Jun 1995

Vol. 455 No. 1

Written Answers. - Ministerial Appointments.

Bertie Ahern

Ceist:

120 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for Justice the persons appointed by her or by Ministers of State at her Department as programme managers, advisers, secretaries, assistants, counsellors or back-up staff either in his Department or in constituency offices; the annualised remuneration being paid to these staff; the names of individuals, groups or companies which have undertaken or have been approved to undertake full-time, part-time or casual consultancies, reviews, examinations or analysis or any public relations services on her behalf or on behalf of Ministers of State at her Department: the actual or estimated cost in this regard; the persons, companies, consultants, attachés or otherwise she or Ministers of State at her Department have appointed to semi-State bodies under the aegis of her Department; and any reviews, consultancies or reports she or Ministers of State at her Department have commissioned or are due to commission; and the full cost in respect of all these matters. [11912/95]

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Owen)

The information sought by the Deputy is set out in the following statement:

Appointments

	Programme Manager	Personal Assistant	Personal Secretary	Civilian Driver	Total Cost
Minister	Ms Linda O'Shea Farren	Mary Shinners (Dáil Secretary)	Cora Duffy
Annual Salary	£43,783	£18,955	£8,813		£71,551
Minister of State Joan Burton			Lillian Harris	Thomas Casserly
Annual Salary			£16,320	£13,185	£29,505
				Overall Cost £101,056

No staff in the categories mentioned by the Deputy have been appointed in my Department by Deputy Austin Currie, Minister of State at my Department.

The names of consultancy and public relations firms commissioned by my Department from my appointment to date and the particular purposes for which they have been commissioned are as follows: Coyne Communications and Mr. Peter G. White have been retained to provide ministerial public relations consultancy services at an annual fee of £15,124.80 inclusive of VAT and £21,054 inclusive of VAT respectively.

Heneghan Public Relations Limited were retained on a once off basis to provide consultancy regarding media training. The cost of this service was £968 inclusive of VAT.

A contract has been put in place with Mr. Peter G. White for the provision of training of departmental officials in relation to contacts with the media and the Department's public image generally. The annual fee is £6,300.

The services of Lucy McCaffrey and Company were retained for planning and facilitation related to the setting up of a public information meeting between myself and the two Ministers of State at my Department with community representatives to discuss crime problems. The fee involved was £1,089 inclusive of VAT.

The only publication initiated by my Department since 16 December 1994 is Mr. Justice Finlay's report on the violence and disorder at Lansdowne Road. The only costs involved were those for publication of the report which amounted to £7,545. The full cost in respect of all of these matters is £153,136.80.

There are no semi-State bodies under the aegis of my Department.