Nothing could be further from truth as new emails obtained by the Irish Examiner reveal.

The spin unit is weaving its way into the heart of Government, training civil servants, helping set up a new department, cajoling reluctant department bosses into cooperating and even taking over parliamentary duties. Emails also show the SCU helped oversee an event in the Taoiseach’s own constituency.

Documents show how the SCU is stretching its reach right into the nerve centre of departments and government decision-making, at very senior levels.

The unit, led by marketing guru John Concannon, was even asked to participate in the controversial public services card project amid the initiative receiving “an amount of public attention”.

All this feeds into opposition concerns and claims that the €5m unit has politicised elements of the civil service, blurring the lines between the elected and permanent government.

The Freedom of Information documents, obtained after being released to Fianna Fáil, show how the SCU drafted a parliamentary question answer for a TD, essentially justifying its own existence.

Sinn Féin’s Maurice Quinlivan submitted a written parliamentary question to then tánaiste and minister for business Frances Fitzgerald in early October last year. It was a simple direct question.

The Limerick City TD asked “the way in which the new strategic communications unit will be used by the office of the Tánaiste or her office” and if staff from her department would be moved into it.

The SCU was itself asked by the department for the answer. Any material would be “gratefully received,” the department’s head of communications emailed an SCU official.

SCU campaign manager Andrea Pappin came back with a full drafted answer for the minister’s own staff, telling the department’s head of communications they would be: “Grateful if you could use this version.”

The department head thanked the SCU officials for the draft parliamentary reply. The actual answer written for Mr Quinlivan into the formal Dail record on October 12 last in the then tánaiste’s name was almost word-for-word the same as the draft supplied by the SCU.

Another email exchange with Department of Health staff shows how SCU oversaw a local event in Mr Varadkar’s constituency of Dublin West, at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown. The email to John Concannon and others concerned the turning of the sod on the new children’s paediatric outpatient and urgent care unit.

Mr Concannon and the SCU were told by the department’s head of communications the event would include a photocall, brief remarks and the announcement of the new name for paediatric services. The event resulted in many published articles and photos.

Mr Concannon and the SCU were also called upon to help promote the public services card. An official in the Department of Public Expenditure told Mr Concannon: “This initiative is a key pan-government one receiving an amount of public attention as you might be aware”.

Ahead of a national publicity campaign, the official was reaching out for support. Was there hope here of using the SCU skills to try and deflect this “public attention” referenced?

These three groups of email exchanges, all in October last year, show that the PR unit was involved in taking over parliamentary duties for a tánaiste, promoting Leo Varadkar among his own constituents, and even helping manage public concerns over the public service card.

There is spin here. It is not just about streamlining communications, as claimed by the Taoiseach.

Opposition parties have raised concerns that this PR blitz may damage the integrity of the civil service. Emails suggest top officials are being pushed into co-operating. Furthermore, how does this branding exercise fit with the public sector?

One of Leo Varadkar’s first moves as Taoiseach was setting up the new rural affairs department.

Emails show, under resourced and facing big decisions, the department’s acting secretary general was asked to meet with the SCU.

Elizabeth Canavan replied to John Concannon on October 4: “Hi John, I’ve been asked for the A/Sec contact for communications in the department but I’m afraid I’m short at the moment!”

Ms Canavan adds:

Clearly, we are delighted to get help and as quickly as possible before we launch off on our own. However, as you can imagine, a fair degree of anxiety here to press on to improve our presence and the quality of communications. So we have the benefit of being fairly “greenfield” but pressure is on to adopt a clearer comms plan...

“Any assistance we can get will be essential to meeting the demands being place [SIC] on us here. We are about to go to tender but I won’t move forward on that until we discuss further.”

A separate email exchange shows the SCU was consulted about setting up the rural affairs website. But the SCU is also training civil servants.

A human resources official with public expenditure emails other department officials about a civil service communications module, after a suggestion from the SCU’s Andrea Pappin, writing: “I think this would be very beneficial in identifying how best to integrate the Strategic Communications Unit element into the module.”

Furthermore, emails show John Concannon and the SCU making presentations to the very highest echelons of the civil service. Department of Communications secretary general Mark Griffin asks John Concannon in an email about presenting to the management board:

“Would you be available and interested in coming in to present to the group on the challenges around external communications and the role of the SCU.”

What is also clear from the emails is a reticence, or at least a delay, in department chiefs co-operating with SCU requests. There is constant emailing from the SCU for department’s to assign assistant secretaries general to liaise with the PR unit.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy’s officials are sent a “gentle reminder on previous emails” about getting the minister and top officials to meet Mr Concannon. SCU coordinator Medbh Killilea follows up with emails across departments trying to get ministers, their secretaries general, or officials to agree to meetings.

The centralising of control by the SCU is evident from the emails, with departments asked to forward “your nominated assistant secretary” while meetings are arranged with Cabinet ministers.

What the documents reveal is that the PR unit is very much now operating at the heart of government, with high-level officials, often having the final say on tenders, meetings and launches.

More alarming though, is the evidence of its role in taking over a minister’s Dáil duties, overseeing a key health launch in the Taoiseach’s backyard, and even helping set up a new department. SCU officials are also roped in to manage contentious issues, such as the public services card.

Fianna Fáil say the SCU should be scrapped because of the politicisation of the civil service and that this centralisation of communications is not good for democracy and is even “dangerous”.

The Taoiseach has admitted the new unit has become a distraction. But it goes further than that, with senior department figures being called on to cooperate.

Nothing moves unless the SCU deems so, and you get a sense from reading email exchanges that there is an attempt to maximise good news and deflect bad stories.