Talk is cheap, or cheaper than it used to be anyway. As the recession bites, celebrities such as Bob Geldof, Marian Finucane and author and BBC?journalist Fergal Keane have slashed their fees for public speaking.

Geldof, who last year commanded fees of up to €85,000 for corporate speaking engagements, has now dropped his asking price to €58,000.

However, his agency, Kruger Cowne, says he still requires two business-class air fares, prestige class hotel accommodation and ground transfers on both sides. According to a promotional leaflet for Geldof, "He is currently probably better known than most international politicians and almost certainly more liked."

Meanwhile, household names such as Finucane and Keane have indicated they are open to negotiation when it comes to sharing their thoughts on the after-dinner speaking circuit.

Finucane, who previously charged up to €8,000 for a speaking arrangement, now commands the smaller sum of €3,500, according to the Dublin Speakers Bureau, while Keane has dropped his rates from €15,000 down to just over €9,000.

Penny Apples author Bill Cullen will repeat the story of his ascent from the street stalls of Dublin to successful business for a fee of around €5,000, a drop from his 2006 price of €7,500. Only economists such as David McWilliams have managed to increase their fees in the downturn.

Frances Keane, who runs Personally Speaking, a service that provides well-known Irish speakers nationally and internationally, says the drop is due to negotiations and not necessarily that speakers are dropping their fees.

"I represent a lot of household names and it is not so much a case that we are dropping fees, but we have companies who we work on negotiations with. It is also dependent on what type of event they are participating in, as some speakers would demand a lot less money."

Keane says the demand for eminent public figures is still strong, despite cutbacks in many companies.

"A lot of companies are now deciding to use these celebrity speakers a lot more, booking them in for a series of talks or seminars and working it out that way, and then we would reduce the fee. So in fact the industry is changing so that there is more of a budget for these speakers now than ever before. Companies are making more use of them as opposed to just using them for a once-off appearance."

She also says Irish celebrities are following the cue of TV and radio personalities such as Craig Doyle and Lucy Kennedy and representing brands and companies now as well. Doyle is now representing UPC Internet while Kennedy is ambassador for the Bord Gáis 'Big Switch'.

"The demand is also high for these well-known faces because not only are they speaking at events, but they are now representing brands more than before which marks a shift. They are being utilised in new ways now. So negotiations can take place on the back of that too," says Keane.