171. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport the number of staff that worked in his Department’s communications and press office in each of the years 2019 to 2024; and the grade of each staff member. [41172/24]

The professionalisation of the Communications Function of my Department in recent years reflects the increased need to ensure that the Department is responsive and proactive in terms of the transparency of our work. This has resulted in improved outputs and outcomes, including a 19% drop in FOIs from journalists on 2022 levels in 2023 for example, and cross-Government climate campaigns being driven by the Department to change public behaviour including "Your Journey Counts". Public transport users are now using services more than a million times per day, up 12% on the same period last year. Last year people who walked, wheeled and cycled helped reduce 160,000 tonnes of carbon emissions in our 5 cities.

The number of staff that worked in my Department's communications and press office in each of the years 2019 to 2024 and their grades are outlined below: