Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The new unit does not exist yet. It probably will not be established until September but I am happy to give the House notice of it and any information I have on it now. It will be supplementary to and separate from the GIS because its role will be different and complementary. It will not be political. It will not be staffed by political appointees. People will be seconded from other parts of the Civil Service and public service. Its role principally will be to inform the public about what the Government is doing and explaining to the public, and more broadly, the actions of Government. For example, it will explain the budget. There will be a €58 billion spending package announced on budget day, but people have very little knowledge about and understanding of it. There is an opportunity to explain it a bit better. The unit will explain the capital plan when it is published and how that will impact on and benefit every community throughout the country. As another example, in a few weeks' time the new universal child care subsidy kicks in. This subsidy will be worth approximately €1,000 a year, or €20 a week, to families with children in child care. Every child between the age of six months and three years will benefit from this subsidy, but how many people know that this is going to happen in less than six weeks? We need to invest a lot more effort in explaining to the public some of these new initiatives that are being led and implemented by Government and how Government is working for them to make their lives better.

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