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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 22 Oct 2003

Vol. 573 No. 1

Ceisteanna – Questions. - Departmental Bodies.

Enda Kenny

Ceist:

11 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the total cost of the communications unit of his Department since January 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19560/03]

The total cost of the communications unit since January 2003 to date is €225,082, with €94,541 of this being a direct cost to my Department and on average €26,108 being borne by the other Departments, some of whose staff are seconded to the unit.

The unit provides a media information service to Government Ministers and their Departments. It furnishes news updates and transcripts which ensure that Departments are kept informed in a fast and efficient manner of any relevant news developments. In this way, Departments are able to provide a better service to the public.

The communications unit works an 18-hour day based on a flexible rota of three working shifts. The unit is staffed by six established civil servants, five of whom are seconded from other Departments. The work of the unit means that Departments have greatly reduced their use of external companies and ensures they no longer duplicate work such as transcripts and tapes. It is conservatively estimated that in a full year the communications unit saves Government Departments approximately €175,000.

I am not sure whether it was the communications unit that produced the statistic we heard this morning of the number of bottles that would stretch from here to New York 160 times.

That was the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

If they went from there they would go down through South America I suppose. Can the Taoiseach confirm that 11 Ministers of his Government spent almost €4.5 million on departmental advertising and PR last year? Given the cutbacks in various Departments, this is an extraordinary figure and in many ways it is an obscene expenditure of public money.

The Deputy's questions should refer only to the Taoiseach's Department.

I understand that. I am asking him to comment on the work of other Departments in his charge. If the communications unit is working three six-hour shifts, does it monitor the coverage that Opposition politicians receive so that it can be counteracted by spin statements from the central unit?

As I have previously outlined, the unit merely gives factual reports and accounts of what is in the national broadcasting stations and the local papers. It is a simple and easy way of communicating what is in the news to Ministers and Departments. About 100 people across Government Departments receive it and it is a cost-effective way of providing the scripts and transcripts of broadcasts from radio and TV that they need.

Given the invariably bad news that this unit has had to process recently about the performance of the Government, can the Taoiseach confirm that benchmarking applies?

Benchmarking applies to all the public service.

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