Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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126. To ask the Taoiseach the amount spent by his Department on advertising in relation to Covid-19, by month and by media outlet (details supplied), from 1 March 2020 to 1 March 2021. [12323/21]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The table details the figures requested by the Deputy.

Since March of 2020, my Department has co-ordinated communications for the whole-of-government response to the pandemic. This necessitated expenditure on a broad range of targeted public messaging across a range of different information campaigns.

The overall communications strategy for Covid-19 is based on a coordinated response that ensures maximum clarity for citizens, businesses and our wider community. This aligns with both World Health Organisation (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) advice, both of which emphasise the importance of ensuring the general public is aware of the seriousness of the COVID-19 outbreak, and further that a high degree of population understanding, community engagement and acceptance of the measures put in place are key in preventing further spread.

It is also recommended that communication strategies should target different audiences and provide the rationale behind the measures, also outlining the necessity to put a support system in place to provide essential services and supplies (e.g. food and medication), and to monitor vulnerable individuals.

Campaigns have included national and local radio, national and regional newspapers and social elements across different platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Last Spring a number of campaigns were run as restrictions were initially imposed at the onset of the pandemic in order to explain the measures and to reinforce public health messages. Other campaigns focussed on specific sectors and topics, including supports for business, the postponement of the Leaving Certificate, the Return to Work and Community Wellbeing campaigns.

In May of last year, the Government’s Roadmap to Reopen Society and Business was published and a communications campaign was run to explain the different phases of the Roadmap.

During Summer 2020, the Jobs Stimulus Plan was announced by the Government and a campaign was run which focussed on restoring confidence and investment in the recovery.

In Autumn, campaigns aimed at Community Wellbeing and Keeping Well and reinforcing public health messaging were run.

The AntiViral campaign, launched in December, aims to engage with those aged 18-24, recognising that they have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

This campaign is a way to demonstrate the positive role that our young people are playing in beating back this virus. It has had over 5.7 million interactions on the social platforms and reached over 300,000 people in that age demographic. The AntiViral hashtag had over 1.1 million views and the campaign’s positive sentiment was measured at over 60%.

Also in December, there were campaigns to inform citizens of the advice for having a safe Christmas with family and friends, and guidance on shopping safely, to reinforce public health messaging.

It is essential that citizens, business owners and communities are informed of the decisions being made by Government, and campaigns are developed and implemented to make the public aware of these decisions.

Data from 25 of the Campaigns advertised in national press show an average reach of 49%, with 17 of these reaching over 50%. The average readership for the 25 campaigns was 1.9 million (with 16 of the 25 campaigns having a readership of over 2 million). Readership figures for regional newspapers is over 1.5 million for each campaign. Radio advertising had an average audience reach of 79%, with 19 of the campaigns advertised on radio reaching over 80%.

Digital display advertising was used in 13 campaigns, with a combined audience reach of over 33 million. This is an average of 2.6 million impressions, with six of the campaigns reaching over 3 million citizens.

Of 19 campaigns analysed that used Social media advertising, an average of 4.9 million impressions were achieved, with a high of 16.1 million impressions for the Publication of the Roadmap campaign.

Invoices for the campaigns run during Winter 2020 and Spring 2021 are currently being processed for payment.