Written answers

Tuesday, 19 June 2018

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Departmental Advertising Campaigns

Photo of Willie PenroseWillie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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73. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the projected cost of the campaign on false self-employment; the number of cases that had been ongoing in advance of the launch of the campaign; the way in which that number compared to 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26565/18]

Photo of Regina DohertyRegina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The media campaign on false self-employment was aimed at ensuring that there is better public awareness of the important service the Department provides in determining employment status and to help develop a better understanding of the scale and nature of false self-employment. The main advertising campaign ran over a two week period from the 7th May, with digital and social media promotions continuing for a further two weeks. The campaign directed people to a dedicated page on my Department’s website as a first step. The website provides important information on the impact of false self-employment and the criteria used to determine whether someone is an employee or self-employed, as well as contact information for Scope section, the Workplace Relations Commission and Revenue. The new web page has attracted more than 10,500 visits during the campaign with an average time of over three minutes spent on the page which is regarded as very favourable. Our Twitter ad got a favourable reaction overall with 1.2 million “impressions” and more than 100,000 seeing it. Scope section received some 50 calls and 30 emails during the campaign from individuals who had become aware of the service directly as a result of the ad campaign. Feedback suggests the detailed information available on the dedicated website appears to have been successful in addressing issues for many people. The majority of callers confirmed that they had visited the website first before contacting the Department. Ten formal applications for a Scope decision were registered. The advertising campaign has cost approximately €165,000 (including VAT). This includes all advertising, creative development and translation costs in eight languages.

From January to April 2018 Scope section made 395 determinations of employment status and PRSI class. For the same period in 2017, there were 319 cases decided.

My Department is continuously engaging with its broad customer and stakeholder base to increase public awareness of its many schemes and services.

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