Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The cost for any social media advertising undertaken in 2019 will be met from my Department's administrative budget. Costs incurred are expected to be significantly less than the spend on digital advertising in 2018 which is estimated at approximately €450,000.

The expenditure referenced relates to a number of major cross-Government public information campaigns that the Department funded centrally during 2018. These were Healthy Ireland, Global Ireland, Project Ireland 2040 and the self-employed benefits campaign aimed at ensuring self-employed people are aware of the new and existing benefits available to them.

The majority of this expense was incurred prior to July 2018. Public information campaigns in future will be funded mainly by relevant line Departments rather than being funded centrally by my Department.

It is important to communicate across a variety of platforms, including social media, to ensure transparency and clarity for all citizens. The Government Information Service is now required to provide a 24-7 service to media organisations on all topics of public interest, often with short response times. It is also required to generate online content, including written, audio and video material, as well as live broadcast on occasion.

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