Inland Fisheries chair said agency 'still standing - even if not unscathed' after Oireachtas hearing

Ken Foxe

The chair of Inland Fisheries Ireland said the embattled agency had come through a bruising Oireachtas committee hearing “still standing – even if not unscathed".

In a message of thanks to a communications agency that helped prep management for the appearance, Professor Tom Collins said they could not have managed without their “support and insight".

An email from Prof Collins said: “I dread to think how it would have unfolded [without support].”

The state fisheries agency paid €54,000 to DHR Communications for advice in the run-up to its appearance before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) earlier this year.

Inland Fisheries Ireland has been dogged by controversy, including a scathing audit report that detailed deficiencies in internal control including dozens of credit cards for employees and an uninsured vehicle that was involved in a crash.

Internal records detail how the fisheries agency believed the communications advice had been critical in getting it through the PAC hearing.

An email from Prof Collins said: “A brief note to thank you for all your help in recent weeks.

“It was an invaluable contribution to our encounter yesterday. I think we came through it and are still standing -- even if not unscathed!”

The internal records also show that communications advisers were closely monitoring PAC proceedings, helping review opening statements and preparing senior officials for robust questioning.

Ahead of the appearance, a list of subjects was also drawn up that could not be discussed because they referred to proceedings involving the Workplace Relations Commission, An Garda Síochána or protected disclosures.

In another candid exchange before the hearing, Prof Collins reacted to news that the accounts of the fisheries agency were to be made public imminently.

“My info from [the Department] is that the accounts will be placed before the Houses [of the Oireachtas] next week – but it would be better if they weren’t!” said his email.

The records also detail how committee proceedings were pored over, with timestamps and references sent for sections of previous hearings that might prove significant.

A series of calls, meetings and revisions to the agency’s opening statement also took place in the final days before the PAC hearing.

After it was all over, management said it would do a “lessons learned” exercise on how the committee proceedings were managed.

A senior official said that combining legal and communications advice had been “particularly useful”, according to documents that were released under FOI.

Asked about the records, a spokesperson for Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “We are not commenting at this time.”