No urgent need to hire Leech, claims FG

FORMER Environment Minister Martin Cullen's claim of an urgent need for a communications specialist to deal with the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) was questioned yesterday by Fine Gael.

Transport Minister Cullen, in an RTÉ interview this month, said PR consultant Monica Leech had been taken on by his department after he decided he needed "somebody fairly quickly" to assist him with the roll-out of the NSS.

However, Fine Gael environment spokesman Fergus O'Dowd yesterday said correspondence received by him from the department did not seem to support the urgency suggested by Mr Cullen, nor the pivotal role the minister suggested would be played by the communications specialist in the roll-out of the NSS.