Believe our PR, spin doctors ask Cowen

IRELAND’S TOP spin doctors have decided they need to work on their message if they are to stop bleeding lucrative Government PR contracts.

Gerry Davis, chief executive of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII), wrote to members this week to inform them that he is seeking a meeting with Taoiseach Brian Cowen, other party leaders and “opinion leaders” to put across their case.

Davis wants to “express our concerns regarding the targeting of the public relations industry and the damage that can be caused by what we regard as ill-considered comment”.

The PRII is unhappy that PR and advertising agencies have been “singled out for special mention when Government cuts in expenditure have been announced”.

This month, the Government said it would cut €25 million from spending on PR, advertising and consultancies. This was on top of cuts in the October budget.

Davis told members that the PRII and the Public Relations Consultants’ Association of Ireland are “concerned that repeated targeting of the public relations industry by leading politicians will overspill further into the private sector, thereby resulting in a loss of jobs across the sector”. To make a “reasonable case” for the industry, Davis asked members to fill in an anonymous and confidential survey in relation to staff numbers, salaries and business in general. The deadline was midday yesterday and it will be interesting to see the results.

We wish Davis and his colleagues well. There’s already a long queue of people wanting to meet the Taoiseach to rail against Government cutbacks.

We don’t doubt that PR firms here are feeling the pinch like other companies. In the current economic climate, however, the PRII will have to use all its powers of communication to get its message across successfully.