Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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109. To ask the Taoiseach if funding was allocated from other Departments to fund the strategic communications unit; and the amounts his Department received from each Department. [49556/17]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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110. To ask the Taoiseach the details of the tender for the research and insight survey which was issued by the strategic communications unit that drafted same; the changes that were made to same subsequently; and the reason these were made. [49557/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 110 together.

The costs associated with the Strategic Communications Unit, since its establishment in 2017, will be met from my Department's Budget. No monies have been sought from other Departments to fund the Unit. But it is intended that the Unit will drive savings across all Departments overtime through efficiencies generated by:

- cross-Governmental collaboration on major campaigns,

- more efficient use of technology platforms,

- consolidated media buying,

- efficient third-party contract management,

- rationalising design projects,

- streamlining participation in national events,

- increased communication capacity within Departments.

In 2018, my Department's budget has decreased by 2% compared to this year. The Unit’s budget of €5 million is a reallocation of existing resources within my Departments' budget for 2018.

My Department is about to award a contract for a Research services. Such work is a normal part of a professional communications function and has been undertaken by other public bodies in the past. The research will cover the public's view of Government, their perception of services provided by Government and 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.

However, in the light of concerns raised in relation to the scope of the research, my Department reviewed the tender and a number of clarifications have been made:

- the data to be collected is from the general public, from young people to older people; where possible the views of those under 18 are to be included; it will not therefore be confined to "Irish voters aged 18 or over"

- the definition of "Government" includes Departments, Agencies, Offices, state services and the work of the public sector and explicitly excludes anything party political or individual Ministers

- while it is standard that the intellectual property rights of research lie with my Department, as the client, rather than the research company, it will be published and available to everyone.