BIM criticised for PR spend on Galway Bay fish farm

Bórd Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), which has applied for a licence to facilitate a massive salmon farm in Galway Bay, says there’s nothing fishy about its expenditure of tens of thousands of Euros for communications advice.

The state agency has come under fire for hiring a private public relations company that sent heavy-handed letters to editors of three Irish newspapers in relation to articles about the controversial proposed salmon fish farm off Galway Bay.

Galway Bay Against Salmon Cages (GBASC) says it is “worrying” that BIM spent over €57,000 last year for advice from a Dublin-based PR company Keating & Associates, to complain to newspaper editors and “stifle debate”.

This was just one of a litany of payments to private consultants hired by BIM last year at a total cost of €685,242, according to documents released under Freedom of Information (FOI).

But BIM has defended its outlay on consultants, and says it, like other State agencies, hires outside expertise when the need arises.

It also defended its expenditure on communications, and said Keating and Associates had provided services to BIM to cover maternity leave last year.

Data released to GBASC through FOI, shows that some €143,239 was paid to Keating & Associates for “communications advice and communications support” from January, 2010 to April 1, 2015.

This, it said, included €98,500 to cover for maternity leave for a thirteen month period. Its payments to Keating & Associates involved almost €58,000 for a “communications service” in 2014.

During that period, BIM sent letters to the editors of three newspapers, including the Connacht Tribune, Irish Times and Irish Examiner.

GBASC accused BIM of trying to “stifle debate” by issuing strongly worded letters to editors of newspapers. “We believe these letters are an attempt by BIM to stifle debate on the Galway Bay and other proposed mega salmon farms,” the group said in a statement.

It added: “GBASC are astonished that BIM, with all their highly paid staff, some of whom are earning in excess of €100,000, couldn’t find someone within their ranks to give communications advice and write a small number of letters to the media at a cost to the taxpayer of €143,239 since 2010.”

The campaign group said it was “shocked to learn” through FOI that BIM spent a total of €685,000 on consultants last year, which includes communications advice and some other outside expertise to advance plans for the salmon farm.

“This seems to be an exorbitant sum to be paying to consultants when BIM claim to be the experts in this area. BIM seems to have access to a bottomless pit of money, and unquestioning support from the relevant Minister to push their mega salmon farm on an unwilling population,” it said.

The group pointed to a recommendation in the 2009 An Bórd Snip Nua report on areas that could be cutback, which in relation to BIM said it could be subsumed within the department and “formally abolished”.

“GBASC believe that the implementation of this recommendation is long overdue,” it added.

BIM in a statement defended its expenditure.

It confirmed it had authorized Keating and Associates to issue separate letters to the editors of three newspapers on its behalf, “in order to address the publication of inaccuracies regarding BIM and the Galway Bay application”.

Two of the publications, it said, issued clarifications.

The state agency, in a statement, added: “BIM engaged Keating & Associates in order to provide the communications support needed within BIM to manage the significant workload associated with the Galway Bay aquaculture licence application, its public consultation process and the intense media activity that surrounded same. The firm also supported the organisation while the internal Communications Manager was on maternity leave.

“Like many state organisations, BIM, on occasion, engages external consultants either to provide a professional capability not available internally or to provide additional support to internal resources.”