MEDIA & MARKETING:The past week has been a media disaster for the Government. How did it turn out so badly, asks Siobhán O'Connell?

PUBLIC RELATIONS is the practice of managing the flow of information between an organisation and the public. It's as much about managing relationships and reputations as about publicity. But despite an estimated annual budget of €10 million for special advisers and PR handlers, the past week has been a PR disaster for the Government.

The announcement in the Budget that medical card eligibility was to be capped was always going to be controversial. So how come Brian Lenihan and his colleagues handled the issue so badly? Veteran PR consultant Ronnie Simpson says the crisis management textbook recommends that organisations can regain and enhance their reputation in a disaster if they respond correctly.

But he believes the change announced on Tuesday was too little, too late. "When you have razed the building to the ground, with casualties, even saying sorry and offering to rebuild 95 per cent of the structure has little impact," he said. "The proper response would have been for the Government to come out with their hands up, admit they made a mistake and apologise for the worry they have caused."

Trish Morrissey, a director of Drury Communications, says: "Communications has a very clear role in explaining decisions and their implications. However, no matter how good your communications are, they aren't a substitute for making the right decisions in the first place.

"With the medical cards, the communications programme should have included detailed briefings for all Cabinet Ministers and politicians. A phone helpline and website equipped to handle detailed questions and answers to allay fears should also have been prepared. It was easy to predict how this would pan out."

Going forward, Morrissey advises the Government "to ensure that anyone speaking on the subject is briefed in detail, that they can talk confidently about the issue and be able to talk about the specifics. Most importantly, they need to present a unified message going forward."

Mark Brennock, director of public affairs at Murray Consultants, says the Government has to be careful not to let its reform programme be reduced to a series of unrelated actions by the media. "Have a big picture, medium-term goal and tell us what it is again and again," he said.

"Place all your actions in the context of that vision. In other words, don't just tell us the pain you will inflict; tell us why it is necessary and where it will get us. Make it clear that your actions are part of a plan and tell us what the plan is.

"Explaining is important too. Confusion following the Budget announcement caused uncertainty, and this led to distress among older people. Make things clear and as simple to understand as possible. And if you have to climb down, do it openly and cleanly and make a virtue of your honesty. The Government should be acting in accordance with clear principles that people understand. Voters like to see their politicians being guided by principles."

PR consultant Paul Allen concurs. There is an urgent need for clarity, he said.

"Talk radio has seized the agenda and the Government is losing serious ground to mischief makers in some media. The Government needs to move proactively without delay," he said.

"A spokesperson needs to be appointed from Government ministerial ranks to clarify mass confusion, and other measures, such as front-page newspaper advertisements, should be purchased by the Government explaining the real facts and outcomes of the situation in order to get out in front."

Paul McSharry, managing director of consultancy FD, noted that confidentiality restricts market research in advance of Budget announcements.

He added: "The problem was that, after the Budget announcement, a vacuum of information was created that was filled with political point-scoring and hysteria on the nation's phone-in radio shows.

"The proposed income thresholds needed to be up in lights quickly to reinforce the message that only the comparatively well off would lose out completely. Instead, there was confusion and some contradiction, which did not help the Government's case.

"The climbdown on Tuesday reflected the political reality which the Government had been grappling with. It is important that lessons are taken on board, with a need for definitive statements to end the ongoing speculation and misinformation," he said.