Vol. 561 No. 2
187 Ms Harkin asked the Minister for Defence the number and cost of personnel involved in his Department in media, media marketing and public relations activities, including external public relations and media monitoring services in the periods 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001, 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2002 and 1 January 2003 to date. [3995/03]
There is one civil servant serving as press officer in the press office of my Department. There are ten members of the Permanent Defence Force serving in the Defence Forces public relations section, which includes the Defence Forces press office, An Cosantóir and Connect magazines, and the public relations office. Salary costs amounted to €407,630 in 2001, €415,778 in 2002 and €44,199 in 2003. In addition, costs in relation to external public relations consultancies amounted to €10,666 in 2001 and €33,617 in 2002.
