Sack the spinners
Martin says PR unit threatens Irish democracy
THE Government’s “spin” unit was yesterday slammed as a danger to democracy as the Taoiseach admitted it might have to be scrapped.
Micheal Martin urged Leo Varadkar to dismantle the Strategic Communications Unit which he claimed is being used to promote Fine Gael.
The Fianna Fail leader told Today With Sean O’rourke it is “dangerous and risked politicising the civil service”.
He said: “We cannot and should not be using civil servants to promote the ideas of a political party.
“This was always a danger as to where we were going to end up and we have ended up there. Essentially it has become a propaganda unit.”
Earlier the Taoiseach admitted the unit might have to be scrapped as it had become a “distraction”.
The SCU has faced criticism after a furore around a public information campaign on the Government’s “Project Ireland 2040” infrastructure plan.
Rivals claim paid-for stories placed in national and regional papers were not clearly marked as advertorial content.
That controversy fuelled persistent opposition claims that the unit is more interested in boosting Fine Gael’s profile than disseminating Government information.
Mr Varadkar last week asked the secretary general of his department to conduct a review of the unit.
He also ordered a tightening of protocols around the use of advertising..
The Taoiseach told RTE Radio One “That’s something that’s going to have to be examined.
“The unit was set up with a view to modernising and professionalising Government communications – it’s had some success in that regard.
“It was set up as a unit to better explain the work of the Government and now it’s become a distraction.”
However, Mr Varadkar insisted there was “scant evidence” the unit was using public money to promote Fine Gael.
He accused rivals of focusing on the controversy to distract attention from the benefits of the Project Ireland plan.
He added: “I think there were things that could have been done better so I issued very clear instructions as to how things should operate in the future when it comes to any paid-for advertising by government.”
Emails have emerged which show the advertising agency hired by the SCU gave instructions the material was to come across as news not promotion. Mr Martin YVONNE Connolly isn’t putting pressure on her children in the run-up to their exams as “university isn’t for everyone”.
Jack, 18, Missy, 17, and 12-year-old Ali ensure home life can be “crazy” but with the eldest child of Yvonne and ex husband Ronan Keating studying for his Leaving Jack, Ali, Yvonne and Missy Cert, his mum is trying to stay cool. She told the Irish Mirror: “It’s not tense enough in the house. Jack is not nearly as stressed as he probably should be.
“I’ve realised now there is absolutely nothing you can do. You can put them under as much pressure and as little pressure but they’ll do their own thing.”