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

There are 15 staff currently employed in the GIS.

Responsibilities of the service include the running of the Government press office and the delivery of Government-wide communications reform.

In line with the recommendations from a review conducted in 2018, the Department has reverted to the GIS model, with a smaller budget, fewer staff and a more limited role.

In further alignment with the review, changes have been made across Departments, which preserve valuable and necessary reforms to ensure value for money, professionalisation and modernisation of Government communications in general.

The communications budget for GIS is sourced from the administration budget of my Department. The yearly outlay will depend on factors such as whether there are any significant inward State visits or whether events, for example, the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, require additional communication expenditure. Public information campaigns are now largely funded by the relevant line Department and are not funded centrally by my Department.

See this speech in context