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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

The Government Information Service, GIS, includes the Government Press Office and the merrionstreet.iecontent team and works on a cross-functional and collaborative basis to provide the Taoiseach, the Government and the Department with press office and communications services; ensure strong collaboration and co-ordination among press and communications officials in other Departments and agencies; co-ordinate, amplify and create communications around Government priorities such as Housing for All, climate action and energy, Ukraine, shared island, Brexit, Covid-19 and the national well-being framework; and lead the development of Government communications, facilitate and encourage capacity-building in the area of communications and engagement across the Civil Service and public service and manage the "Government of Ireland" identity and unified web presence, www.gov.ie.

There are 18.6 posts in the division, an increase of one from January 2022. This reflects the increasing workload of the Department, particularly regarding whole-of-government matters, including Ukraine, housing, shared island and climate action and energy.

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