Brian Hayes
Question:31 Mr. B. Hayes asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs his plans for further expenditure by his Department for the purposes of advertising in 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6433/02]
Priority Questions. - Departmental Expenditure.
Advertising of social welfare and related services is an essential part of the responsibilities of my Department. Effective advertising is of particular importance in informing people where changes are being made in services or in relation to major developments affecting their payments, such as the introduction of the euro. Advertising is also vital in ensuring that citizens are fully aware of their entitlements across the range of social insurance, social assistance and other supports available to them.
The bulk of advertising expenditure in 2002, as in previous years, will be in connection with general advertising of payment arrangements for budget increases, information in relation to departmental grant schemes and issues such as relocation of departmental offices and industrial relations issues where they arise during the course of the year. Apart from advertising costs per se, there are associated costs for items such as design, exhibitions and seminars where information on the Department's services is made available.
In addition to general advertising on promoting and raising awareness of departmental schemes and services which will arise during the course of the year, a number of media campaigns are under consideration. These include a campaign on the personal public service number designed to promote awareness of it and its use as the key to accessing integrated public services and e-government – this will be a major campaign utilising both print and broadcast media; a joint campaign with the Department of Finance aimed at promoting the implementation of the Dormant Accounts Act, 2001, which comes into effect from April this year and in which the Department will have an involvement; a campaign to promote awareness of the lo-call service and to advertise its planned extension during 2002 to additional offices in my Department – lo-call provides telephone access to Government offices for the cost of a local call; and campaigns to enhance public awareness and understanding of the supports available through marriage and couple counselling services and the family mediation service.
It is not possible to predict in detail the level of advertising which will be necessary over the course of the year in that this will depend to some degree on issues which arise during the year. At this stage, however, I estimate that overall expen diture by my Department on advertising during 2002 will be in the region of €1.85 million.
I presume all that money will be spent before May. Is it true that in the first two months of this year the advertising budget of the Minister's Department exceeded the total amount spent by the Department in 1998 and 1999? Is it not unusual for the Opposition to put the charge to the Minister that he is using this money as leverage to win votes in advance of the general election? There is a fundamental distinction between giving basic information to social welfare recipients and using public funds for party or political advantage. In the past 12 months the Minister has scandalously used huge sums of money to have his name and picture associated with these advertising campaigns. Will the Minister desist from this personalised campaigning between now and the general election? It is an abuse of taxpayers' money to claim that he and Fianna Fáil are responsible for these payments and that the money does not belong to the people.
What criteria were used for the Minister's euro advertising campaign as distinct from his budget increases campaign? His name was on the advertising campaign for the euro but not on that for the budget increase.
It was.
Why was that distinction made?
Check it out.
One campaign referred to a message from "the Minister, Dermot Ahern", but the other did not.
The Deputy is wrong. That was used in both campaigns.
I have it from the Minister's Department.
The Deputy should check it out.
I will come back to that.
Expenditure of €1.85 million, which is estimated for the coming year, in the context of a budget of €9.5 billion, is extremely small expenditure on advertising. This is particularly true in relation to what was spent last year. The €1.85 million will not all be spent before May.
Have I the Minister's word on that?
It will be spent in relation to the personal public service number.
We have this information already.
I will list what it will be spent on. The PPSN campaign will probably not take place before May. During my time in office, as Deputy Hayes may or may not find out if he is in government, I was given an estimate of what the Department would allow me to spend in each incoming year. In none of the years that I have been Minister have I overspent the advertising estimate. The estimate in relation to last year was considerably increased to take into account the euro changeover. As I said in a previous answer to the Deputy, I and the senior officials in the Department were worried that there would be confusion with the confluence of the euro changeover on 1 January and the significant policy initiative of moving payments from mid-June to 1 January. Thankfully, as a result of the publicity campaign and the excellent work of my Department in delivering the lump sum payments—
Does the Minister not think people are confused?
—there have been few problems—
They are confused.
—with the payments to 850,000 people per week. Even some of the Fine Gael Deputies, despite the advertising about which they complain, seemed to have difficulty ascertaining when payments will be made—
The Minister should proceed to Question No. 32.
—because a number of them, including Deputy Hayes, put down questions to find out exactly how the payments were being made.
Will the Minister tell the House—
The Chair has called Question No. 32.
I have the questions with me.
—why he persists in his personalised campaign which is such a waste of taxpayers' money?
I ask the Minister to answer Question No. 32.
I make no bones about the fact that we have an excellent information and publicity campaign.
The Minister must proceed to Question No. 32.