Written answers
Wednesday, 16 October 2024
Department of Education and Skills
Departmental Advertising
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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126. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount spent by her Department on traditional and online advertising in each of the past ten years and to date in 2024, in tabular form. [41803/24]
Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The Department’s total spending on advertising (including design) for the period in question is outlined below.
| Year | Total advertising spend (including design and creative costs) |
|---|---|
| 2024 to date | €563,630.12 |
| 2023 | €800,434.04 |
| 2022 | €364,842.68 |
| 2021 | €541,369.05 |
| 2020 | €626,401.73 |
| 2019 | €317,357.60 |
| 2018 | €387,296.00 |
| 2017 | €199,599.77 |
| 2016 | €398,194.29 |
| 2015 | €142,655.71 |
| 2014 | €139,607.29 |
The Department has engaged in a number of advertising campaigns including the Teaching Transforms campaign which has been ongoing since late 2018 to promote the teaching profession and encourage post-primary and third level students to apply for programmes of initial teacher education. The various phases of the campaign have used a range of channels, including digital (online video and social media), radio (traditional and digital) and print (national papers and college press).
The Department has engaged in public information campaigns in respect of school reopening, to ensure widespread awareness of public health advice in the context of COVID-19.
It has undertaken targeted advertising and awareness campaigns for students involved in both the 2020 Calculated Grades process and the 2021 Leaving Certificate and Accredited Grades process to ensure awareness of the changed procedures under these models, necessitated by the pandemic.
Other campaigns included school transport advertising in 2023 and 2024 to let parents and guardians of school-aged children (particularly in rural Ireland) know about the Bus Éireann portal, where they can check eligibility for free school transport and or register and pay for school bus tickets. The campaign is run in two bursts, one when the portal opens (for checking eligibility and registration) and a second to inform the audience of its closing date (so that payments can be made on time). It is a multiplatform campaign that comprises regional and national print media, radio, and digital/social.
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