Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I too wish to be associated with the comments of goodwill expressed to Denis Landy on the occasion of his retirement from Seanad Éireann.Denis was a gentleman and an excellent contributor across a wide range of topics over his two terms in the Seanad. I wish him and his family well. It was a big decision for him to make and no doubt he will leave, through his contributions, a lasting imprint in the House for years to come.

My colleague, Senator McDowell, mentioned the Government information unit that is based in the Department of An Taoiseach. The €5 million spending there is additional to the €170 million already spent by the Government and State agencies in promoting Government services. That is €175 million being spent this year on the promotion of Government services. There are serious questions about the public good and where that crosses over into political promotion, and some recent communications have been in the realm of the latter. That is wrong and something that should be corrected. This is happening at a time when answers to parliamentary questions in the other House have not been forthcoming and the information that has been sought and which should have been provided has been withheld. We are spending all this money on promoting information to the public, but a Department at the heart of a scandal has been withholding relevant, factual information from a Member of the other House and his fellow Deputies. It is scandalous. We have to get real and I hope that the Government will take this as a rude awakening to get its act in order because what has happened in recent weeks cannot be allowed to happen again.