Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his Department's plans to conduct market research. [41633/17]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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2. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on changes to his Department's website; and if changes are being made to merrionstreet.ie. [41863/17]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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3. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on plans in his Department to conduct market research. [42741/17]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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4. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the advertising undertaken by his Department. [43749/17]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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5. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on changes to his Department's website; and if changes are planned in respect of the website of the Government Information Service, merrionstreet.ie. [43823/17]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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6. To ask the Taoiseach the status of the commitment in his own Department's strategy statement to examine the balance of power and responsibility between the government and the civil service. [43829/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together. The strategic communications unit in my Department represents a step change in how we as a Government communicate with our people. It is about informing people of the work of Government in a co-ordinated, focused and cross-governmental way so that it becomes easier for people to understand what the Government is doing and the full range of State services, benefits and entitlements available to people, both new and current. It is citizen centred, will represent value for money and will, over time, reduce overall costs in line with international best practice. It is the first time in the history of the State that there will be a whole-of-Government approach in how we communicate with people in a sustained and systemic way. The strategic communications unit will be integrated within the Civil Service structures in my Department, with the director of the unit reporting to the Secretary General of the Department.

The Civil Service Management Board, CSMB, has decided to establish a subgroup which will act as a high level working group and will be chaired by the Secretary General to the Government. Its membership will be finalised shortly. In addition, responsibility for communications will be assigned to an assistant secretary in every Government Department who will work collectively to ensure cross-Government co-operation and co-ordination.

This initiative will be progressed as part of the Civil Service renewal programme. This oversight is in line with my Department's strategy statement, its core values being a deep-rooted public service ethos of independence, integrity, impartiality, equality, fairness and respect and a culture of accountability, efficiency and value for money. These core principles will inform how the unit will conduct its business. Its task will be to simplify Government communications and to increase efficiencies across the public sector when dealing with the Irish public. It will achieve this by streamlining communications to citizens, developing and delivering major cross-Government communication campaigns and improving communications capacity across Government.

My Department, working with the Office of Government Procurement has invited tenders for a research survey to help us learn more about public awareness and understanding of Government services. The research will explore the public's view of Government, their perception of services provided by Government, their knowledge of the range and quality of those services and what the role of Government should be in their lives with a view to helping us communicate more effectively with citizens. I expect the contract to be awarded shortly and the research will be published when completed. This work will inform the future output of Government communications. This kind of approach is in line with international best practice. Other Governments that have undertaken this kind of work include those in the UK, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

I have no plans at present to make changes to merrionstreet.ie. However, as part of an audit being conducted of the many Government Department websites and online services, these may undergo a rationalisation process in order to maximise cost effectiveness, reduce confusion and fragmentation and improve usefulness for users. My Department has undertaken four information campaigns to date which incorporate advertising, namely the Data Summit, the Back to School campaign, Ireland's Rugby World Cup bid and budget 2018.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Taoiseach has acknowledged that a tender worth €130,000, excluding VAT, was issued to conduct polling on attitudes towards Government, along with a six month rolling tracker poll. Who commissioned that research and who designed it for Government? In terms of Question No. 4, last week there was a series of sponsored advertisements on Facebook promoting the budget, with prime positions for the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance, along with promoted tweets. That was the first time we have actually seen bought advertising promoting a Government and particular Ministers. How much was spent on this political promotion? Is it co-ordinated by the new strategic communications unit? Will this now be an ongoing feature, with paid-for advertising, rather than the use of merrionstreet.iein the normal way, showing shots of the Minister for Finance at budget time? Will we see more of this paid advertising targeted at individual Facebook and other social media users?

In his response today, the Taoiseach said that an assistant secretary in each Department will now be put in charge of communications. I take it that this is not an exclusive role for an assistant secretary. Can I presume this will simply be an added role for an existing cohort of assistant secretaries?

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Following on from what Deputy Howlin has just said, I seek clarity on a few points. I am trying to get my own head around this. I would have understood that each Department had its own press function and that the central co-ordinating press service was the Government Information Service, GIS. I find it difficult to understand the need for another layer in the form of a strategic communications unit. I ask the Taoiseach to clarify the relationship between GIS and the new unit. What platform will the strategic communications unit be using? Is it social media only or does it also use merrionstreet.ie? Is merrionstreet.iestill the preserve and under the control of GIS?

In terms of funding, the Taoiseach said the unit is cost neutral. When I look at the budget documentation, I see a new budget measure providing €5 million within the Taoiseach's Department for the establishment of the strategic communications unit but I do not see the corresponding reduction, that is, where that €5 million is coming from. I would have thought, in order to be transparent, that the Taoiseach would spell out exactly the source of the €5 million saving. If one takes taxation, for example, if there is a new budget measure, favourable or otherwise, that detail is set out in the budget documentation. I do not see that transparency in terms of how this particular proposal is going to be cost neutral. What I do see is a new budget measure providing €5 million.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I would have thought that Teachta McGrath would have been across that detail, given that his party facilitated the budget. That said, to go back to the issues raised, the Taoiseach published this tender for the production of tracking polls, amounting to €130,000 plus VAT every year. That is a substantial amount of public money. I ask the Taoiseach to provide examples and to clarify precisely the purpose of these polls.

Who will be responsible for determining which issues will form part of the tracking process? If I understood him correctly, the Taoiseach said the poll results would be published. When he announced the establishment of the strategic communications unit, he said it would be cost-neutral. An additional €5 million has now been set to one side for it. As I am sure the Taoiseach will agree, that is hardly cost-neutral. Is the cost of the tender for the production of tracking polls included in the €5 million? The Taoiseach has said the public has a right to know what the Government does and how taxes are spent. I absolutely agree with him. Will he now give the Dáil the overall annual cost to the public purse of the strategic communications unit? How much will the Department of the Taoiseach pay overall for publicity and communications staff?

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Taoiseach to deal with all of the questions asked.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Most of the questions were very detailed and would really be more for a civil servant than a politician to answer. However, I will answer them as far as I can.

I do not know who commissioned and designed the research, but I assume it was the director of the unit. The thinking behind the unit is very simple, one I hope most Members of the House will understand, namely, that if we do not measure, we cannot improve. If we want to improve something, we have to be able to measure it. One example is Ireland's first ever patient experience survey carried out not by the strategic communications unit but by the Department of Health. We are all aware of the public perception of the health service. Sometimes it is very good-----

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The strategic communications unit is doing it?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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No. As I said, I am giving the House an example of the concept involved.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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That has nothing to do with the strategic communications unit.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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That is correct. It was done separately. I am doing my best to answer the Deputy's question, with all of the others. The concept behind it, as used by governments across the world, is that when it comes to research, one cannot improve something, unless one can measure it. Separate from the strategic communications unit, the Department of Health has for the first time commissioned a patient experience survey, from the results of which we will be able to know about people's experiences of the health service and how they compare from service to service and hospital to hospital. This will allow the Department to improve the service and see if the public agrees with the improvements made. That is exactly the approach the Government should take. We need to ask citizens and customers what they think of the services we are providing; look to see where there may be deficiencies; make changes and then see if they have actually worked. The only way we can know if they have worked is by again asking people after the changes have been made whether their perceptions have improved. The basic concept for a very long time has been measure it; improve it; measure it again; and see if the improvements have made a difference. What matters most is what citizens think, not what politicians think, be they on these benches or elsewhere.

In response to the question on advertising bought by Departments, they have bought advertising for all sorts of information campaign for as long as I can remember. What is slightly different this time is that much more of the advertising is being carried online through Twitter, Facebook and so forth. This is 2017 and communications have changed. I look back with a degree of amusement at the controversy when Fianna Fáil was in government and set up www.merrionstreet.ie. My own party and the Labour Party for that matter made much the same criticisms at the time that the Opposition is making today. It was felt that it was terrible for the Government to set up a website and people wondered what the whole thing was about. All Fianna Fáil's setting up of www.merrionstreet.ie amounted to was a move towards modern communications and the Government having a website, although there was a big fuss about it at the time. What we are doing now also embraces modern communications, involving Twitter, Facebook, videos and that manner of modern technology.

On the issue of assistant secretaries in each Department, Deputy Brendan Howlin is correct in saying it will not be a dedicated post but rather a position included among their existing responsibilities. This position already exists in many Departments but not in others.

While I said the strategic communications unit would be cost-neutral, I never said it would cost nothing. Any unit with employees and that will be involved in information campaigns will, of course, cost something. I said it would be cost-neutral. If anyone looks at the Department of the Taoiseach's Vote in the budget book, he or she will see that the overall budget for my Department is down by approximately €1 million. The savings made in each section are explained in detail, line by line.

With regard to the former Government Information Service, GIS, its former functions in respect of www.merrionstreet.ie will be integrated into the new structure, while the Government Press Office will continue to operate as before, dealing with day-to-day media queries under the direction of the Government Press Secretary.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I thank the Taoiseach for his detailed reply. I am concerned, however, about the new move into paid political advertising. The Taoiseach will know that political promotional ads cannot be paid for from the public purse. The issue of the allocation of moneys to parties in opposition arises because we cannot spend money in promoting our parties or party policies in an overt way. We have to raise our own money for campaigning, while we receive State moneys to run the party simpliciter. The Taoiseach has confirmed to the House that any advertising paid for will be conducted in the normal way in promoting Government schemes and making people aware of policies determined by the Houses rather than take the form of political advertising to promote the interests of the parties which make up the Government.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I have no problem with the Government using modern technology and the modern methods available to us. That is very sensible and appropriate. I return, however, to the Taoiseach's claim that the strategic communications unit will be cost-neutral. Will he explain it to us, given that there has been the allocation of an additional €5 million for the unit? He did not do that in his initial response to the question.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Taoiseach has not explained that point. He has included a new budgetary measure of €5 million without showing where the corresponding savings are being made on the expenditure side in order for the unit to be cost-neutral. Nobody is suggesting it is cost-free, but the Taoiseach did say it was cost-neutral and the onus is now on him to demonstrate this. However, I do not see it in the documentation. Will the Taoiseach also clarify the role between the Government Information Service and the strategic communications unit? Might a situation arise where political appointees and advisers could be involved in meetings with the strategic communications unit, formulating strategy and selecting the particular messages Fine Gael wants to convey and the campaigns it wants to run, as part of the Government and as a party?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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There will be no political advertising and no promotion of political parties. The Civil Service and public sector code will continue to apply in that regard.

On the issue of costings, I cannot explain it any better. Cost-neutral is not the same as it will cost nothing. The money is being found within my Department and my departmental budget is, in fact, being reduced. The unit will actually save money over time, just as similar units did in other jurisdictions. Looking at the plethora of logos, communications functions, websites and press functions across Departments and agencies, any rational person will see that co-ordinating and pulling all of this activity together over time will actually save a substantial amount of money for the taxpayer.

On the issue of political advisers, they are departmental employees and it is normal for them to engage with civil servants all the time. They will continue to do so, but there will certainly be no engagement with party officials or party press officers.