Dáil debates

Tuesday, 12 October 2010

2:30 pm

Photo of Brian CowenBrian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together.

There are four staff assigned to the communications unit, two executive officers, one staff officer and one clerical officer. The projected cost to date of the unit for 2010 is €181,701, with €84,156 being a direct cost to my Department and the balance being paid by three other Departments from which staff have been seconded to the unit. These costs represent a reduction of 6% on the 2009 cost, 20% on the 2008 cost and 27% on the 2007 cost. This has been achieved through greater efficiency in the operations of the unit and the application of Government policy on reducing staff numbers.

The GIS comprises the Government Information Service, the Government Press Office, the communications unit and the Government website team. The projected cost for the GIS in 2010 is €1,308,100 which represents a reduction of 12% on the 2009 cost. The Government Press Office and the Government Information Service provides, on behalf of myself, my Department and the Government an information service on Government policy to the public through the national and international media and promotes a co-ordinated approach to media matters across Departments. The Government Press Office issues press releases to the media, briefs political correspondents, organises photocalls, information campaigns and ministerial representation on current affairs programmes. It also disseminates information to the domestic and international media on the web and via e-mail. Staff in the Government Press Office are available after hours and at weekends to answer media queries.

The cost of designing and developing the website was €18,150. Implementation, support and independent security testing cost a further €3,116. Computer hardware and software cost €6,284 and audio-video equipment cost €6,785, bringing the total cost to €34,335. The site is being hosted by the Local Government Computer Services Board and the annual hosting cost is expected to be in the region of €4,000. Apart from these costs, the project was developed using existing in-house resources in the Department. Ongoing technical maintenance and support is being provided by staff in my Department's IT unit with support from an external web services company on an "as needs" basis. The team that maintains and updates the site content is also drawn from existing departmental resources, with the exception of two temporary staff - journalism graduates - requiring relevant work experience who were recruited at clerical officer level. There is no net additional cost as these posts have been funded from a reallocation of the overall staff budget, which has fallen by 11% since 2008 and is likely to be further reduced in the 2011 estimates.

It is clear that the manner in which information is transmitted through the Internet is changing. It is important that the Government's ability to provide information via the web reflects this change. The website, www.MerrionStreet.ie was developed following a study of best practice by more than 20 other Governments. It provides citizens with a single on-line location where the activity of Government can be viewed. The latest press releases from all Departments are available on the site, which over time will become a valuable archive of Government information. Its main purpose is to make the work of Government more accessible to citizens by reporting Government news in a user-friendly manner, using audio-visual tools and Internet capabilities, including YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

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