Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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4. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the role of his Department in establishing a single Government visual identity. [43841/18]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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5. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the role of his Department in developing a single Government visual identity. [45086/18]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 5 together. A unified Government identity has been developed and adopted by Departments as part of the reform programme for Government communications.

A unified identity replaces a fragmented and expensive system that saw Departments and Government agencies use, and communicate through, a multiplicity of identities, logos and brands, resulting in confusion, a lack of clarity for citizens and greater expense. The unified identity makes it easier for citizens to understand and recognise when a Government body is communicating with them and when projects and initiatives are funded by Government as opposed to the private sector or NGOs.

The experience of governments internationally and the research done in other jurisdictions, notably in the Netherlands, confirm the confusion and lack of clarity resulting from a fragmented approach.

The Dutch experience and that of the United Kingdom and others is that a unified, consistent identifiable identity ensures greater clarity on the role and place of Government in society for citizens and in Government communications.

All Departments have been supplied with the logos, templates and guidelines necessary to apply the identity and this application is well under way in all Departments. This is evident in the use of the Government of Ireland identity at Government events, press conferences and at public events, conferences etc., where Departments have a presence.

The unified identity has also been applied at departmental level - from departmental logos through to a consistent approach to the design of communications campaigns, reports, online activity and identifying all Government communications campaigns as being very clearly initiatives of the Government of Ireland.

An example of how this unified identity provides a clear, identifiable presence for the citizen was at the recent National Ploughing Championships, where Government representation was immediately and clearly identifiable as a result of all Departments using the unified identity in the design of their units.

In alignment with the recommendations from the Secretary General's report, the reformed Government Information Service, GIS, is responsible for the implementation of the single Government identity.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I thank the Taoiseach for the reply, which indicates that the strategic communications unit lives on, perhaps in a ghost-like form similar to a hologram that can be seen at the back of the image.

Given what the Taoiseach stated, will all individual Department identities ultimately be dropped and subsumed into the Government of Ireland identity? I believe many citizens would not like that because they are familiar with different elements of Government services. For example, some Government services are well received but others are not. As the Taoiseach knows, the Government is mired in difficulties in the areas of justice, housing and health. Is there some discretion in that regard?

What is the spend to date on the development of the identity and what is the projected end-of-year spend? What agency - I presume it is some ad agencies or a single agency - is overseeing the implementation? Are departmental logos being phased out? Is that the Taoiseach's ultimate projection? The spirit of the strategic communications unit is still there. Has any cost-benefit analysis been done on what outcomes this is producing in terms of better services for citizens?

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach said a single Government visual identity will provide greater clarity for citizens on the offering of services - or the complete lack thereof in some instances - and that he believes it will help in terms of Government communications. I do not disagree with that. The Taoiseach said all Departments have been supplied with logos, templates and guidelines necessary to apply the identity and this application is well under way in all of them. That is a useful clarification. Does the Taoiseach have the details to hand of exactly who put the design together? How much has the rebranding or redesign across government cost to date? What are the projected costs for the future? To echo the question asked previously, has a cost-benefit analysis or any kind of value-for-money analysis been conducted to ensure this will be cost-effective?

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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On the single Government identity, one could be cynical and say this is moving far faster in terms of reform-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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One would never find cynical people around here.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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It would be a first, I suppose. The sense is there is greater emphasis given to the reform of various Departments by the single Government identity. Statements have been made on a single Government identity and greater participation by the public and more information on Government services. When there is a complete lack of Government services it is an issue. The issue of home helps and kids with disabilities was raised repeatedly during questions on promised legislation earlier. The services are not there. If more State services are made available, the public is discerning and will find them quickly. The emphasis cannot only be on branding. The emphasis has to be on improving the quality of the services, particularly to vulnerable people. There are challenges across a wide variety of Departments. I would like to see greater emphasis in Departments on the issues affecting citizens. Whatever branding is there, the public will be able to find services if they are available. It is not correct to say that a single identity gives the citizen greater interaction with State services. If State services are not there, no matter what brand there is, citizens will not get involved in it.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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To pick up on the final comment, I could not agree more. Good communication is no substitute for good services, nor is it a substitute for good infrastructure but good communication can help to provide a good service and make sure people know where to find it. Different identities will continue to exist. Nobody is suggesting for a second that the Garda Síochána will cease to be the Garda Síochána. We know from Deputy Burton's leadership in reforming the Department of Social Protection, the Intreo brand is one that is quite strong.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Óglaigh na hÉireann will still be Óglaigh na hÉireann.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I assure the Deputy that is the case.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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That is good to know. It is helpful.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I appreciate there is suspicion to the point of paranoia around this but I assure the Deputy not only will the gardaí still be the gardaí, the Navy will still be the Navy and Intreo will still be Intreo. It means Departments will adopt a common and unified brand. It is a harp. It makes sense that Departments, which are essentially just branches of Government, should all have the same logo. If one went to a major enterprise or company, every department or division of that company or service would not have its own website or logo. It is one Government. We want to have joined-up government in terms of policy, delivery and communications. Over time, it stands to reason that doing that will save money. We want to give people clarity around communications so they know what is coming from Government and what is not. There is much debate in the House about online advertising and information campaigns and how often the source of that information or the people behind such campaigns is covert. This is the opposite of that. It makes sure people know if there is information being put out or if there is a communications campaign that it comes from the Government of Ireland so it will not be obscured by an entity they have not heard of if they are not sure the entity is a Government body, a private enterprise or an NGO, for example.

The cost incurred so far for the unified Government identity is €47,000, excluding VAT. That covers design work and the roll-out of services as well as the production of comprehensive guidelines for the use of all Departments.

A unified identity for Government replaces a fragmented system that saw Departments and agencies use and communicate through a multiplicity of identities, logos and brands resulting in confusion and a lack of clarity for citizens, as the number of Government bodies has proliferated over past decades.

The experience of Governments internationally and the research done in other jurisdictions, notably in the Netherlands, confirms the confusion and lack of clarity resulting from a fragmented approach. The Dutch experience, and that of the United Kingdom, is that a unified, consistent identity ensures greater clarity around the role and place of Government in society for citizens and in Government communications. The unified identity makes it clearer for citizens to understand and recognise when Government is communicating with them and when projects and initiatives are funded by Government. Departments are represented online by multiple distinct websites and platforms, each providing different visual styles and user experience. The vision for gov.ieis it will provide one portal for citizens to access Government services. The site is being developed with the citizen at its centre and will provide coherent digital experiences for citizens in communicating with Departments. The design prioritises ease of access to services provided by Government and represents a move away from today's situation where website designs are aligned to how Governments are organised internally. These changes are being driven by the eGovernment strategy and Our Public Service 2020. Significant advancements have been made on gov.iesince its launch in November 2017 both on structure and the interface of the website and on the use of the site more generally. It is being used to host many cross-government communications campaigns, including Healthy Ireland, Be Safe Online, Sláintecare, Project Ireland 2040 and budget 2019. The current phase of the project entails the migration of departmental websites to gov.ie. A set of guidelines has been developed, which all Departments will adhere to, in the migration to the website, leading to a uniform and intuitive experience for the citizen and its interaction across Departments. The Department of the Taoiseach has been the first Department to migrate and this migration is due to be completed by the end of this year with other Department websites moving across throughout 2019.