TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY has been forced to back down on criticisms of the government press office and its MerrionStreet.ie website, after prompts from Micheál Martin about its role in the new government’s operations.

Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil this morning, Martin said Kenny had attacked the government press office for nine years while leader of the opposition, mocking it as “the heart of a political operation”.

Martin also referred to comments from Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, who last year referred to MerrionStreet.ie as a “propaganda site” – only for Kenny this morning to describe it as “impartial and objective”.

That change of heart had been a major “about-turn”, Martin said, describing the current government’s previous remarks as “ill-advised and ill-informed”.

Kenny admitted that his criticism of the website had been based on the premise that all government departments had their own individual press operations, and his fears that the site may have run “contrary to what was running” in the individual departments.

“I’ve actually clicked onto it myself at one stage – it is factual information,” Kenny said. “All the government statements are on that for all citizens, at home and abroad.

“From that point of view, I accept that it is factual information being given out there.”

The Taoiseach admitted, however, that he hadn’t yet “had time to go and visit the personnel down there” in the Government Information Service since taking office.

Martin responded by suggesting that “Sir Humphrey” had been “hard at work in making sure you were all converted to the importance of the work of the Communications Unit and of MerrionStreet.ie”.

Further references from Martin (and later Joe Higgins) to Sir Humphrey – a fictional civil servant from the Yes, Minister series – prompted Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett to discipline the TDs.

“Can we refrain from Sir Humphrey?,” Barrett implored. “He’s not in existence any more, as far as I’m concerned.”