Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Taoiseach as ucht a chuid freagraí. First, I welcome the publication of the report on 27 March by the Ard-Rúnaí of your Department, Mr. Martin Frasier. I think it is insightful and it is useful in examining the mistakes made in the establishment of the strategic communications unit, SCU. I welcome its principal recommendation, for the SCU to be wound down by July. I have a number of questions, however. The report mentions on page 7 that the SCU engaged a company to carry out research work involving a public opinion survey. The report says that given the express concerns by Opposition parties, it would be useful if they received a briefing and gave their views on the content of that survey before it is carried out. This has not happened. When will it happen?

On the final page, the report further states, in stronger language, that the survey should only proceed once Opposition parties have given a view on the content. That is an absolute necessity. The report also recommends that the Government Information Service should continue to have a co-ordinating and supporting role for national cross-governmental communications, as has always been the case. Do that finding and that recommendation not highlight the fact that the establishment of the SCU was a flawed decision in the very first instance? Do they not highlight that if, as the Taoiseach has said on more than one occasion, the idea was for Government as an entity to initiate cross-departmental information campaigns and the like, the infrastructure was already in place to do all of that? I note also the final recommendation of the report, that the issues raised in the review might usefully be considered by the Oireachtas. I want to ask, therefore, if the Government intends to allocate time to discuss the review in the Dáil. It strikes me, given the lessons to be learned, that this would be a very useful endeavour.

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