Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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207. To ask the Taoiseach the total amount spent on online and media advertising by his Department in each of the past ten years and to date in 2022. [37918/22]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The table below details expenditure by my Department on advertising from 2012 to 30 June 2022.

The bulk of the expenditure in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022 relates to the dissemination of information related to COVID-19. In 2020 and 2021, public information campaigns played a vital role in communicating the various strands of the pandemic. The campaigns informed people of all stages of restrictions as they were introduced and subsequently lifted. Public information campaigns were also used to communicate with people on the supports being made available by Government to get through the pandemic. Campaigns featured across national and local radio, national and regional newspapers, and social media platforms. The centralised approach adopted helped to ensure effectiveness of advertising spend, consistency, coherence and amplification of the public health messaging across the various public awareness campaigns, and a focus on hard to reach audiences. To date in 2022, COVID-19 information campaigns undertaken by the Department of the Taoiseach have focused on encouraging people to be more aware of the risk of COVID-19 to themselves and others, in particular vulnerable people.