The Government has rejected Fine Gael charges that a media monitoring unit run out of the Department of the Taoiseach adopts confrontational British Labour Party-style "spin" tactics.
In a notice seeking a new recruit this month released yesterday by Fine Gael, a Department personnel officer compared the six-strong unit with a team run by the British Labour Party. The unit was described as "an early warning system for the Government about the critical/negative media coverage".
The Government has ordered an inquiry into the leak, though a spokesman for the Taoiseach said the language used by the personnel officer was "quite arcane". The memo read: "Staff will need to have a good 'political nose' for stories that are running and be aware of political issues."
Producing copies of letters last night, the Government said the words used in the notice had mistakenly been based on "early draft plans" for the unit when it was first thought up in 1997.
A 1997 description of the office's role by former Government press secretary, Mr Joe Lennon "clearly and correctly described" its duties, the statement added. In a letter to the Department of Justice in September 1997, Mr Lennon said the office would save money, ensure closer links between Departments and cut the use of outside contractors. He also said the office would operate as "a proactive team", notifying Departments of "any questions or criticism" raised by the media. However, his successor, Ms Mandy Johnson, said last night the office did not act proactively, and simply responded to the requests of Government Departments.
Fine Gael last night said "civil servants are working to a political drumbeat" and that the Government's conduct had gone too far.