Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government spent €3 million on public relations contracts in 2009, one of which was the radio advertisements about the designation of seven special areas of conservation on the Dublin coastline. Those radio advertisements cost €23,000 or €25,000. I accept that Departments must advertise their activities to the public. Does the Taoiseach have any information in his brief about this? Is this type of contract approved by the public relations contracts committee? Must the Minister sitting beside the Taoiseach, Deputy Ó Cuív, or anybody else who wants to promote a campaign on behalf of his or her Department, seek approval from the committee first or is the decision made in-house in the Department, based on the budget available, to run advertisements to tell the public how wonderful it is and what it is doing? For example, was the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government obliged to seek approval from the public relations contracts committee before placing these advertisements on radio, on television and in the newspapers?

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