Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 269: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the amount spent in each of the past five years by his Department on campaigns to raise awareness among workers of their employment rights; and the breakdown of those figures by specific campaigns. [11760/06]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Information campaigns to publicise increases in the national minimum wage were conducted in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. These campaigns included advertising on television, radio and in the national and regional newspapers. The campaigns also involved the distribution of thousands of information leaflets and booklets to citizen information centres and post offices around the country. The following table sets out the details. In addition, the employment rights information unit provides an information service to raise the awareness and understanding of both employers and employees regarding the wide range of employment legislation administered by my Department. It also produces a guide to each of the main pieces of relevant labour legislation within the Department's remit as well as an overall guide to labour law.

The information service is delivered by the provision of: telephone service during normal business hours, including lunchtime; out of business hours answer phone service; personal callers — one to one interviews in privacy; written replies to correspondence; electronic mail service; attendance at exhibitions and seminars to explain entitlements and distribute explanatory materials on a range of employment legislation; and a series of explanatory information leaflets in ten languages. Unlike the defined programme of actions associated with changes in the national minimum wage, the other work mentioned is part of the normal day-to-day activity of the Department and as such, no specific data on these costs are extracted from the general operational budget lines concerned.