Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I highlight an issue that was brought to my attention today in an article in the Irish Examinerby the journalist Juno McEnroe. The article is a fine demonstration of public service news reporting. Emails obtained by Mr. McEnroe under the Freedom of Information Act show that the strategic communications unit was asked to draft a response to a parliamentary question I had submitted to the then Tánaiste in October 2017. My question asked "the way in which the new Strategic Communications Unit will be used by the Office of the Tánaiste or her Department; and if staff from the Office of the Tánaiste or her Department will be moved to it".

The Department forwarded my question to the strategic communications unit for answer and its campaign manager, Ms Andrea Pappin, came back with a full drafted answer for the Minister's staff, telling the Department's head of communications she would be "grateful if you could use this version."

I have the response to the parliamentary question from the Minister and the freedom of information request from the Department; there is one different word, where "citizen" is changed to "people". The unit was essentially justifying its own existence, cunningly using the parliamentary question system to hide. When I submit a parliamentary question I am holding the Minister to account and seeking information on a topic from a Minister and Department, not a spin unit. If I want something devoid of substance and dominated by spin, I would read a Government press release instead. It is alarming to think the unit now has a role in the answering of parliamentary questions and this is clear evidence that the unit blurs the line between a neutral Civil Service and the spin of the Fine Gael Party, which is using taxpayers' money to fund this.

I have two questions. Does the unit have any involvement with the answering of other parliamentary questions to other Departments? Do parliamentary question responses now have to be vetted by the unit to ensure they are in line with Fine Gael propaganda? The Taoiseach recently stated that the unit is operating at arm's length from the Government but these answers prove that is not true and an explanation is required as to why I got that response.

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