The Taoiseach insisted that the Government's communications unit was saving the taxpayer about €175,000 annually.
Mr Ahern said the existence of the unit, which monitors media coverage for various departments, had greatly reduced their use of external companies and ensured there was no duplication of work on transcripts and tapes.
Responding to renewed Opposition criticism of the unit, Mr Ahern said: "Its role is not to spin on behalf of the Government. If anything, it gives the media spin to the Government. It reports what the media is saying on various issues, so the Government is not spending enormous amounts of money on putting out its own message."
Mr Ahern said the unit was staffed by six established civil servants, five of whom were seconded from other departments. The cost to his department was an estimated €273,471, excluding any benchmark award, this year. The cost for last year was €256,335.
He added that €108,941 of this year's figure, and €97,218 last year, was a direct cost to his department, with the remainder being borne by five other departments who had staff seconded to the unit at an average cost of €32,906 each this year and €31,827 each last year.
Mr Joe Higgins, of the Socialist Party, said that during the Cold War the CIA had listening posts all around the former Soviet Union. "Is the communications unit the Taoiseach's personal listening post as far as the Irish media is concerned?"
Labour leader Mr Pat Rabbitte said that most people outside the House did not understand that the majority of front-benchers operated on a man-and-dog basis. "They have no back-up, aside from a poorly-paid secretary."
Mr Ahern rejected a suggestion by Labour's Mr Eamon Gilmore that the Taoiseach make available "the product of this thriving little industry" to the public by way of the Internet. The Taoiseach said the unit was a service for the Government and provided media information to Ministers and their departments.
