Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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171. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount spent by his Department and State agencies under his aegis on outside contract and or third party public relations advice and training in past three years to date in 2017, by year and company engaged, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29229/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The information sought be the Deputy in respect of the amount spent by my department in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 is set out in the following table. The information in relation to 2017 has not yet been collated.

The information requested by the Deputy in respect of agencies is not held centrally by the Department. If the Deputy has an interest in a particular agency then officials in my Department will request the agency concerned to provide the relevant information insofar as it is possible.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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172. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount spent by his Department and State agencies under his aegis on outside contract and or third party public relations advice and training in past three years to date in 2017, by year and company engaged, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29232/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department has not engaged outside public relations companies for the purposes of public relations advice. My Department has from time to time commissioned companies with a public relations and communications background but this has been for the provision of other professional services such as project management, logistics and event management, particularly in relation to Irish Aid public outreach activities.

The Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII) has been engaged to provide training to staff from my Department’s Communications Unit on dealing with media representatives and communicating the Department’s key messages effectively. Other senior Department staff members have also received PRII training on communicating in crisis situations, which is fundamental in ensuring that the Department serves Irish citizens at home and abroad during consular emergencies overseas involving Irish citizens. The relevant payments made in the past three years and to date in 2017 are listed in the table.

Payments for Public Relations Training 2014-2017 (to date)