Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 April 2019
500. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if his Department has undertaken procurement processes in respect of consultancy agencies, media or otherwise, to assist it with formulating or contributing to policy messaging on social media or videos relating to his departmental strategies or policies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15395/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn terms of social media channels, my Department maintains a single Twitter account and generally manages this on an ongoing basis without input or assistance from consultancies or other agencies.
My Department has two initiatives currently ongoing which have availed of professional assistance in terms of social media and video production.
The planned National Community Weekend in May will support communities to host events in their local area in order to strengthen community ties and help tackle the problem of social isolation. This national event is being promoted and supported through social media platforms with the assistance of an agency contracted for this purpose. This agency was appointed by my Department following a competitive process run under public procurement rules.
My Department is also currently running a series of Rural Opportunity briefings, which are being delivered through regional events and social media messages. The briefings seek to highlight the opportunities available to those in rural communities through the funding programmes provided across Government and to showcase some of the best examples of how funding has been used in order to inspire individuals and communities to take their own ideas or projects forward. A video has been produced which features relevant case studies of communities and projects in rural areas which have been successfully delivered with the aid of funding supports. The video case studies are being disseminated on social media with promotional impetus provided by an agency contracted for this purpose. The companies involved in the video production and the social media promotion were both contracted on foot of a procurement process conducted under Office of Government Procurement guidelines.
