Bríd Smith Demands No Political Spin in COVID Communications
Bríd Smith spoke on 7 Jul 2020 about the COVID communications budget, the absence of funding for an independent inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell, and the urgent need for maternity leave protections. She urged the Taoiseach to commit not to use communications funding to promote a government or party and pressed for clarity on inquiry budgets and maternity supports.
Past communications spending
The deputy flagged the COVID communications estimate of €20 million and warned against repeating past practices tied to a strategic communications unit that drew strong criticism during the Ireland 2040 National Framework Plan. She described that episode as a brazen misuse of state funds used to paint the ruling party and government in a positive light and recalled public disquiet and the unit's eventual end.
Request for government commitment on communications
The deputy asked the Taoiseach for a commitment that communications budgets will be used only to impart information to the public and never to advance a party of government or to put government in a good light. She recalled the danger of blurring the line between departmental campaigns and political campaigns and urged learning from past mistakes.
Inquiry funding and Shane O'Farrell
The deputy noted two figures totalling about €8.6 million for the Commission of Investigations and Tribunals of Inquiry but said no budget was mentioned for an independent inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell. She questioned whether the government intended to follow through on the earlier commitment to an independent public inquiry and asked what would be done for Lucia O'Farrell.
Maternity leave and equality concerns
The deputy framed the extension of maternity leave and benefit as an equality issue for mothers and children disrupted by the pandemic. She criticised previous answers from the government as needlessly complex, urged urgency, and said the clock is ticking for affected mothers and babies.
Accountability and distinction from the past
The deputy challenged whether the current regime can distinguish itself from previous governments on these key issues, warning against repeating the omissions and failures of the past. She pressed for concrete action and clearer commitments on communications policy, inquiries, and maternity protections.
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For Profit, Deputy Smith Teachta, it's kind of difficult to scrutinise figures that are mainly inherited from your predecessor, but I want to flag something from the past for the future, from the record of the past for the future. On the COVID communications estimate, 20 million, it's perfectly understandable that communications during a pandemic would be quite substantial, but we know from the past experience with your predecessor that there was considerable expense of taxpayers' money put into the strategic communications unit, which came in for strong criticism during Ireland's 2040 National Framework Plan. And that episode remains a brazen misuse of state funds to paint the ruling party and government in a positive light. You will recall the public disquiet and indeed a dull motion that your party, Fianna Fáil, support it. That eventually saw the end of the spin unit. You yourself talked about the huge danger of blurring the demarcation lines between bona fide departmental campaigns and full-blooded political campaigns. So my plea to you, Taoiseach, is that we learn from the mistakes of the past and don't repeat them. And that communications budget should never again be used to present a government or a party of government of the day in any sort of a glorious or positive light. But it should be used to impart actual information to the public. So I'm asking you for a commitment from your government that you'll depart from that practice of the past and won't use the budget of communications to advance any party of government or even to put government in a good light. I have two other questions for you. One is on your budget for the Commission of Investigations and Tribunals of Inquiry. You give two figures totalling about 8.6 million. And I think in your speech, if I'm not wrong, you mentioned about three investigations. But you did not mention any budget for an independent inquiry into the death of Shane O'Farrell. And I remember clearly your party campaigning for a motion which was passed here, voted for by your party, that there should be an independent public inquiry into the death of that young man. And my question to you therefore is, what do you intend to do about it? Are you now turning your back on Lucia O'Farrell, whom I know your party met time and time again, and the commitment that you gave to her in relation to the inquiry into her son's death? And while I have the floor, I want to return to what this state see as a very complex and structural question. But in actual fact, it should be straightforward. And that is the views expressed to you this morning, that you expressed this morning in relation to the question put by Deputy MacDonald on extension of maternity leave and benefit. You see, I think this is really an issue of equality for mothers and for children. And that during the COVID, those whose maternity leave was utterly disrupted and damaged by the pandemic, need to be looked after. And I cannot understand why your predecessor and you seem to be determined to turn this into the most complex, hard question to address. When you have the previous government, and I'm sure you will continue to try to do it, addressed even more complex questions in relation to the pandemic and issues surrounding it, whether it's payments to businesses or payments to workers or payments to farmers or payments for health, why this has become so convoluted when it's actually necessary. So I put it to you, Taoiseach, that your answer this morning was absolutely no different than the answers we have previously got from Leo Varadkar when he was Taoiseach, from Pascal Donoghue as Minister for Expenditure, from the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Social Protection. We've been round the houses on this. Please don't do it again. And please deliver some kind of an answer with the sense of urgency it deserves, because the clock is ticking for these mothers and for these babies. And I think it appears to us, to the women outside the gate this morning and to everybody, that your regime seems to be unable to distinguish itself on this issue. And is this to be the future of this government, unable to distinguish itself from the past on key questions?
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