Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The historical information requested by the Deputy has been set out in previous replies, the most recent of which was provided to the Deputy in reply to Parliamentary Question 39981/22 on 26 July 2022. The Department of the Taoiseach has no expenditure on Ministerial or Departmental public relations.

The Citizens’ Assemblies, which are staffed by the Department of the Taoiseach, have engaged Q4 Public Relations since 2017, following public procurement processes, to provide media liaison and communication services. Its remit includes raising public awareness of the Assemblies' work and supporting communication and media outreach. Q4 also provide a press office service to engage with the media to respond to queries on the work of the Assemblies. €63,354.84 was incurred in 2022 while €95,765.90 was incurred in 2023. Some of the expenditure recorded in early 2023 relates to the Assemblies' work in 2022. There has been no expenditure to date in 2024.

In 2023 and January 2024, the Department paid a total of €18,765.50 to Q4 for support and advice in the development of effective public communication and community engagement strategies as part of the cross-government humanitarian response to people fleeing the war in Ukraine and people seeking international protection in Ireland.