Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1180. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the role that her Department is playing in promoting and informing the public of the payments and schemes that are available given the cost-of-living crisis and other pressures resulting from the refugee increase; and the level of collaboration that is taking place with the Citizens Information Board to ensure that persons are getting correct information and support. [39594/22]
View answerMy Department administers over 90 separate schemes and services, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. The Department is committed to ensuring that members of the public are fully aware of all the welfare supports and services that are available to them.
Public information campaigns and communications via our online platforms play an important part of this work.
In this context my Department has undertaken a series of paid public information campaigns to increase awareness of the payments and schemes which may be of assistance to those impacted by increases in the cost-of-living and further campaigns are in planning.
Public campaigns in relation to relevant available supports undertaken to date in 2022 include:
- Help with Heating Costs (February 2022)
- Additional Needs Payment (June/July 2022)
We monitor the effectiveness of all our public information campaigns. The public information campaign which promoted the availability of the Additional Needs Payment resulted in a significant increase in visits to the page – a total of 83,801 pageviews during the four weeks of the campaign.
Public information campaigns currently planned for 2022:
- Household Benefits Package (Planned July-August 2022)
- Additional Needs Payment (Planned Q3/Q4 2022)
As well as paid public information campaigns my Department also regularly informs the public about the range of supports available through targeted information posted on our own social media and online platforms – gov.ie, MyWelfare.ie, twitter, Instagram and LinkedIN.
We regularly promote the availability of a range of supports which will assist those impacted by an increase in the cost of living. Social media posts to date have promoted the following relevant schemes and payments: Supplementary Welfare Allowance, Additional Needs Payment, Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, and Fuel Allowance.
My Department also places a high priority on ensuring that those arriving in Ireland due to the war in Ukraine are aware of the Government services and supports available to them and that they are given clear information on how to access these public services
To this end, my Department has published a dedicated page which includes information on the social welfare supports available and how to access them. This dedicated social welfare supports page is part of the main information hub, published as part of Ireland's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This hub is available at gov.ie/Ukraine. The dedicated Ukraine hub also ensures that information on all aspects of the government services and supports available are easily accessed in one central location and this information is translated into the Ukrainian and Russian languages.
Collaboration with Citizens Information Board: The Department of Social Protection has a process in place to ensure collaboration with our colleagues in the Citizens Information Board. We provide the Citizens Information Board with details on all public information campaigns prior to commencement. We also actively share any content updates published on gov.ie to ensure that the most up to date information is available to our colleagues in CIB for use on their website and for in person engagement in the local Citizen Information Centres.
