Departmental Advertising.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 June 2008

Thursday, 5 June 2008

Ceisteanna (141, 142, 143)

Leo Varadkar

Ceist:

141 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if agencies, boards, quangos or other bodies within the remit of her Department have carried out advertising campaigns to promote policies or programmes being implemented by those agencies or by her Department in the years 2005, 2006 and 2007; the campaign or relevant programme; the cost of advertising in publications, broadcast advertising, on-line advertising, outdoor advertising, and other forms of advertising as well as consultancy or production costs for each of these years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22352/08]

Leo Varadkar

Ceist:

142 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if agencies, boards, quangos or other bodies within the remit of her Department have carried out or will carry out advertising campaigns to promote policies or programmes being implemented by those agencies or by her Department in the course of 2008; the campaign or relevant programme; the cost of advertising in publications, broadcast advertising, on-line advertising, outdoor advertising and other forms of advertising as well as consultancy or production costs to date in 2008; the anticipated cost by the end of 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22366/08]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Deputy Mary Hanafin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 141 and 142 together.

The information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Leo Varadkar

Ceist:

143 Deputy Leo Varadkar asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her Department has in the year to date or intends by year end to carry out any advertising campaigns to promote policies or programmes being implemented by her Department; the details of those campaigns; the costs of advertising in publications, broadcast advertising, outdoor advertising and any consultancy or production costs incurred in the year to date, the costs that are expected to be incurred by year’s end; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22379/08]

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Deputy Mary Hanafin)

The Department aims to ensure that all citizens are made aware of their rights and entitlements and that they are kept informed of changes and improvements in schemes and services as they occur. The provision of information in a clear and accessible manner is an essential element in the achievement of this objective. The Department uses a mix of advertising media including national and provincial newspapers, radio and television, information leaflets, fact sheets, posters and direct mailshots to ensure that people are aware of their social welfare entitlements and are notified about improvements and changes affecting their payments and services. The amount spent on advertising in any one year is determined by the number of specific advertising campaigns undertaken and the media used.

In 2008 to-date advertisements have been placed in the newspapers inviting submissions and input from the public in relation to the Green Paper on Pensions, on the development of a National Carers' Strategy and on the development of the Department's Customer Action Plan and Customer Charter. The full costs associated with these advertisements are outlined in the following table. Two further campaigns are planned for later in the year in relation to the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance and Budget 2009. The estimated cost of each campaign is also given in the table.

Appendix: Advertising 2008

Nature of Advertising	Media	Cost	Timeframe
		€
Customer Action Plan	Newspapers (Sunday/National)	71,000	February 2008
National Carers Strategy	Newspapers (National/Provincial)	128,000	March 2008
Green Paper on Pensions — Have Your Say	Newspapers (National/Provincial)	257,000	February and April 2008
Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance	Radio Newspapers (Sunday/National)	200,000	Planned for August 2008
Budget 2009	Newspapers (National/Provincial)	70,000	Planned December 2008