Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of occasions on which he has sought advice from public relations consultancy firms or individuals, media advisers or other non-established civil servants in the past three years; if such advisers are retained on a permanent or[i] per diem[/i] basis or otherwise; if such persons have had previous experience with Government Departments or subsidiary bodies; the rate and basis of remuneration in each case; the departmental headings from which payments were made; the extent to which payments were made under the heading miscellaneous; if reference will be made to same in the case of each Minister of State in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3779/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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No public relations consultants were engaged by the Department in the past three years. However, in the interest of completeness, the Deputy may wish to note the following. Following a tender process, Red Dog Design were employed by the Department, on behalf of the interdepartmental presidency administrative planning group, for work relating to the design and branding for the EU Presidency and the launch of the Presidency logo. The company was paid €43,461.37 in 2003 for this work. The same company was paid €23,466.74 in 2004 for a promotion campaign for the EU Presidency website. The greater part of this amount was for the purchasing of media advertising space in national newspapers and on local radio.

Red Dog Design Consultants were also employed, following a tendering process, by Development Co-operation Ireland, a division of the Department of Foreign Affairs. The company was paid €46,201.50 in 2003, €94,332.23 in 2004 and €61,497 in 2005 for work in relation to the design and printing of various information booklets and publications. In November 2004, following an open tender process, Development Co-operation Ireland employed Real Event Solutions to design, organise and manage a primary school competition around the theme of international development and the UN millennium development goals. The competition, which was completed in 2005, had a public relations aspect aimed at encouraging school participation, both at a regional and national level, and cost €17,204, including VAT.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, through the communicating Europe initiative, provided funding in 2005 to allow the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs to engage a public relations officer to publicise its work and, in particular, the role of the Oireachtas sub-committee on European scrutiny in reviewing draft EU legislation. Two consultants were engaged by the joint committee during 2005. Jack Murray Media was paid €5,193 for work undertaken during January-March 2005 and Rachel Dalton Communications was paid €4,350.89 for work undertaken in October and November 2005.

I appointed a full-time press adviser on 30 September 2004. The conditions under which the appointment was made were set by the Minister for Finance. The appointment was to a temporary, unestablished position in the Civil Service and carries no entitlement to established status, by way of limited competition or otherwise. The officer's appointment will terminate no later than the date on which I cease to hold this office. The salary currently payable, €91,382 per annum, is based on the first long-service increment point on the principal officer standard pay scale. A pension contribution based on 11% of salary is also payable by the Department. These costs are a charge on the Department's salaries subhead in the normal way. The person concerned was also my press adviser in the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.

Neither of the two Ministers of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs has appointed a press or media adviser. One press office, which is headed by my press adviser, serves the whole of the Department. An information officer is attached to the Department's Development Co-operation directorate to manage Development Co-operation Ireland's public information policy and strategy. This includes responsibility for publications and for media communications. The officer concerned is employed on the basis of a fixed-term contract and is, therefore, unestablished. The officer has had no previous experience with Departments or subsidiary bodies. The current salary applicable in this case is €68,485 per annum, which is the fourth point on a salary scale ranging from €61,570 to €70,789. This cost is a charge against the salaries subhead under Vote 29, international co-operation. A consultancy contract also provides assistance to the directorate in the management of its public information policy and strategy. The contract value is €34,880 and covers the period August 2005-06. The consultant concerned worked as a stagiaire with the Department during the last Presidency. This cost is a charge against the consultancy services subhead under Vote 29, international co-operation.

A short-term contract to assist in the planning and design of a comprehensive communications strategy for Development Co-operation Ireland was recently advertised on the Government procurement website. The objective is to identify ways of making the aid programme better known to the public. Six companies have been short-listed and will be invited to submit tenders over the coming weeks.