Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Following on the Taoiseach's reply, it is important that the work of State Departments and Ministers, in following through on implementing Government policy be made known to people and be made public in order that people can understand what the Government is about or supposed to be about. From that point of view, does the Taoiseach consider it is necessary for every Minister to have his or her own public relations contract, in other words, to promote the Minister individually or the Minister and Ministers of State? There is an army of press officers throughout the entire Government sector and each Department has its own press officer and so on who have, I assume, a duty and responsibility to spell out the work of the Department and, therefore, the work of the Minister.

If the Taoiseach is talking about cutbacks in current spending, would he consider the question of every Minister in the Government having his or her own public relations contract separate from the press work of the Department he or she heads? Perhaps it might be considered appropriate, under the Taoiseach's Department or whatever, to have a Government relations agency, such as the Government press and information section, which should be able to deal with the promotion of the work of all the Taoiseach's Ministers and which, I am sure, would implement a considerable saving as opposed to individual public relations contracts being allocated to each Minister. Is this a proposal the Taoiseach might examine in the context of getting out the same message but at a considerable saving?

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