Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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120. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the current budgets in her Department for social media advertising for 2021; and the campaigns behind each budget line in tabular form. [44031/20]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Communication with the public is of significant importance to my Department given the nature of its work. The key mission of the Department's is to:

- Support the tourism industry in increasing revenue and employment through enhancing competitiveness and through marketing and product development;

- Promote, nurture and develop Ireland's culture and arts;

- Support and promote the use of the Irish language and to facilitate the development of the Gaeltacht;

- Contribute to a healthier and more active society by promoting sports participation, and by supporting high performance and the provision of facilities;

- Develop broadcasting and media policy, including online safety legislation, and to provide oversight of the BAI, RTÉ and TG4.

Effective communication with the public and stakeholders is essential in achieving these goals. The Department uses social media to promote the wide range of schemes and programmes operated under the auspices of the Department.

It is expected that the Creative Ireland Programme will deploy a modest amount of social media advertising in 2021. The Creative Ireland Programme is an all-of-government programme led by the Department and designed to promote individual, community and national wellbeing. Its core proposition is that personal and collective participation in creative activity drives significant implications for individual and societal wellbeing and achievement. The engagement of citizens and communities through the development of engaging content to foreground and amplify the value and potential of creative engagement for the public is an essential element of this work. On an annual basis, the Programme deploys social media advertising in relation to Cruinniú na nÓg and in relation to any additional relevant issues that may emerge during the year. At this time, the expectation is that this will also be the case during 2021.

The Department currently has no other plans for social media advertising in 2021. Value for money is always an important consideration for my Department when assessing expenditure of this nature.