Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

Previous to the unit's existence, outside companies were used for many years to provide tapes of programmes and related issues. That would cost approximately €200,000. The communications unit provides the service of recording news programmes etc. That is all it does. There is no political analysis or monitoring. It operates strictly under Civil Service codes.

The only reason it is not available to the Houses of the Oireachtas is that it is a service for Government, meaning the extended range of Civil Service across Departments. There are approximately 100 people——

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