Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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142. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the amount spent on social media by his Department and agencies under his remit in 2021; and the platforms the monies were spent on in tabular form. [1698/22]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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My Department is committed to providing the highest standard of communications, stakeholder engagement, and open and transparent dialogue in order to inform policy making and enhance our services for citizens. Our communications approach is designed to enhance our reputation and build trust through collaboration and engagement. Social media is a critical tool in achieving these objectives, and we place a high value on ensuring that our social media channels are actively engaging with citizens on issues that are important to them.The Communications and Media Relations Division of my Department is responsible for managing my Department’s social media accounts on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Given the high value my Department places on communications and public engagement, resources for our Communications and Media Relations Division have increased over the last two years, with the addition of staff with design, videography and content creation skills.

As a result, our Department is now producing professional assets for a range of campaigns. We have committed to supporting these assets through the promotion of same across various social media channels. Most notably in 2021 we were focusing on cyber security, air quality and the circular economy, while a large portion of our total was spent on promoting the Climate Conversation to involve as many citizens as possible in the development of the Climate Action Plan 2021.

Our spend, per platform, through 2021:

Google Ads €329.12Twitter €2,768.22Facebook / Instagram €27,977.56Total €31,074.90

We do not have any role in the social media activity of our agencies and bodies and any spend they accumulate is entirely a matter for those organisations.