Billy Kelleher
Question:378. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health the expenditure incurred by Healthy Ireland on advertising for each year since its launch; and the funding allocated for such purposes in 2018. [4077/18]
View answerTuesday, 30 January 2018
Questions (378)
Written answers
From 2013-2017 the Department of Health incurred no expenditure in relation to advertising costs for Healthy Ireland. However, during that time interval, both the HSE and Safefood have held a number of public information, awareness, and behaviour change campaigns under the Healthy Ireland banner, for which advertising is a key element. I have therefore referred the Deputy's question to those organisations for attention and direct response to the Deputy.
A new communications and citizens engagement campaign, Healthy Ireland 2018, was launched by An Taoiseach on 6th January. The aim of the campaign is to encourage people to make positive choices to improve their physical and mental health, while also providing support and information to help people make those healthier choices. The focus will be on three key areas: eating more healthily, being more active, and minding our mental well-being.
The initial phase of the campaign includes a series of radio advertisements which are now being broadcast, and the development of a new web resource gov.ie/healthyireland. The campaign will build on the progress made in directing people to the available resources.
In relation to the Healthy Ireland 2018 campaign, an initial spend was incurred in relation to advertising in 2017. The funding allocation for 2018 is still being finalised. As the Healthy Ireland 2018 campaign is being managed by the Department of An Taoiseach's Strategic Communications Unit, the Deputy is advised to contact the Department of An Taoiseach for the relevant information.