Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I do not know where it came from, probably from the relevant section in the Department. It does not matter. I do not know what the argument is about. Press offices in every Department deal with the media on an ongoing basis in a range of areas. The Deputy knows better than I do about the proliferation of media outlets and one must deal with that. One can decide to deal with that or not but it is better that everyone deals with that.

The questions relate to the communications unit and I indicated in my reply the initiative being taken to see if we can contribute to a more effective way in which the unit does its work of monitoring how the national media portray the Government's work to the public to make sure it is an accurate reflection of where we are at and to inform Ministers accordingly.

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