Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is recognised, and the Taoiseach acknowledged it himself on television, that he is very keen on social media. Some have interpreted this as his being obsessed with spin and social media rather than real content. The sum of €500,000 is quite a lot to spend on videos. We know of some of the videos. The cost of the Project Ireland 2040 video is indicated as being €146,000. This is very hard to understand, given the difficulty the Government is having in meeting serious targets before 2040. The children’s hospital is a shambles involving bad budgeting. The housing situation is causing enormous distress to people throughout the country. How much does the Taoiseach spend advertising on YouTube? He advertises a lot. As a patron of the cinema I see the Government messages that are obviously designed to appeal to young people. I am not sure that is absolutely correct as it is a very political way of getting across a political party message rather than a Government message, presumably to younger people as they attend the cinema.

How many staff members in the Taoiseach’s Department work on social media platforms for him as Taoiseach? Do social media comprise the primary current means of communication for the Taoiseach? The number of official photographs the Taoiseach has is well down on the number that previous incumbents of his office had. What plans does the social media section in the Department have to deal with the potential of Irish elections being contaminated in the future by foreign entities, in respect of which we have seen considerable evidence in America vis-à-visRussia? There were some attempts to do it in the repeal campaign.

In the context of the forthcoming election at some stage in the years to come, will we take real action to ensure our election process is not contaminated in the way the American election process has been by the misuse of social media?

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