Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

While the strategic communications unit may be gone, it is striking how its spirit continues through the obsession with a certain type of marketing presentation and branding. Instead of seeing modern communications, what we are seeing is very traditional old-style marketing. It may use new platforms but there is nothing modern about the focus on selling messages rather than engaging with citizens in a real way.

In recent days, the Taoiseach has begun appearing in paid online advertisements on Brexit. Could he tell us how many views he has bought for his video? With the dramatic extension of policy advertising and the central role played by the Taoiseach and his Ministers, most modern communications companies would undertake a review of its effectiveness. Can the Taoiseach state whether any studies have been commissioned on whether the politician-focused advertising on which the Government is spending millions of euro is effective? Have we become a more creative society? The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Madigan, and the Taoiseach have been appearing regularly in paid advertisements in supplements telling us that creativity is great. Creative Ireland is costing a lot of money and there have been many supplements and photographs. I am not clear, however, about their impact.

It is purported that the video produced for the UN Security Council campaign cost approximately €100,000, and that €370,000 was expended on it overall. One hundred thousand euro was spent on a five-minute video, which seemed to be more about the domestic audience than the international audience. We have won the campaign before. On previous occasions, we have had people elected to the Security Council but it did not involve this sort of elaborate razzmatazz and videos of the Taoiseach and others with backdrops, music and all the rest of it. That is all fine but people who know what Security Council elections are all about are aware it is about the hard grind of knocking on doors. It takes a long time to make contacts, which are built up over a number of years. Arrangements must be made with other countries and alliances have to be developed. Therefore, I question the need for a video production costing €100,000 for the campaign. I would appreciate it if the Taoiseach indicated to me its purpose and audience. The audience seems to be domestic rather than international. Could the Taoiseach indicate whether he has undertaken any analyses or studies of the effectiveness of all this?

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