PR consultant Monica Leech has told the High Court that she provided excellent value for money when she was contracted to do PR work for the Office of Public Works and the Department of Environment and Local Government in 2001 and 2002.
She said she was given the work by the then Minister Martin Cullen because she was very good and he appreciated the talents and range of skills she brought.
Ms Leech is suing Independent Newspapers for defamation in a series of articles in the Evening Herald in 2004 which she says falsely claimed she got government PR contracts because she was having an extra-marital affair with Mr Cullen.
In heated exchanges during cross-examination by Eoin McCullough, SC for Independent Newspapers,
Ms Leech denied that she had been paid public money to raise a politician's profile.
She said that what she had done was work on projects in Mr Cullen's Waterford constituency - and if the Minister got collateral benefit, so be it.
Ms Leech said there was nothing controversial in what she did - the controversy was created by others.
It was ‘disingenuous and obscene’ of Mr McCullough to pretend that the articles in the Evening Herald were about public concern, she said.
She said they had taken away her reputation and her business.
In an interruption to her evidence, Ms Leech complained that she had an issue with Mr McCullough's body language which she said was extremely offensive.
She said he made no eye contact and frowned when she was speaking and very defensively used his right hand to scratch his temple.
The case, before a jury of five men and seven women, will continue on Monday.
