Written answers
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Department of Environment, Community and Local Government
Departmental Advertising
Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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214. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his expenditure on advertising detailing the objective, duration, media platforms, advertising agency or agencies, and cost of each advertising campaign in each of the years 2015 to 2025. [37026/25]
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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My Department uses advertising to promote a range of services, supports and initiatives for people and communities across Ireland.As the media landscape has evolved over the past number of years, advertising expenditure has grown to address the diverse needs of different audiences, including costs associated with achieving national reach for important public messages. For example, my Department has run a significant national campaign on reducing energy use in 2022, 2023 and 2024. This “reduce your use” campaign was designed to assist every household in Ireland in dealing with rising energy costs and supporting positive behaviour change. In recent years, advertising expenditure has also grown to ensure that we are meeting our Irish language advertising requirements under the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021.The majority of Department advertising is procured via a media buying agency, and the weighting assigned to different media platforms is determined by target audience, best practice and securing value for money.
The table below sets out overall expenditure in my Department since 2019. As my Department has been reconfigured on several occasions since 2012, the information sought by the Deputy is not readily available. My Department has gathered the information requested covering the period since the formation of the previous and current Government and this is set out below by year.
| Year | Spend |
|---|---|
| 2019 | €279,805.00 |
| 2020 | €107,898.17 |
| 2021 | €516,668.44 |
| 2022 | €3,828,081.00 |
| 2023 | €3,807,000.50 |
| 2024 | €2,631,914.01 |
| 2025 | €314,193.00* |
The table below comprises major campaigns over that period:
| Ad Campaign | Objective | Start | End | Media Platforms | Advertising Agency | Spend Ex. VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | ||||||
| Climate | ||||||
| Climate Action Plan / Climate Jargon Buster | Campaign to publicise the new Climate Action Plan. | May-22 | Aug-22 | Display, Partnership | Mediavest T/A Spark Foundry | € 307,000.15 |
| 2022 | ||||||
| Energy | ||||||
| Reduce Your Use - Burst 1 | Reduce Your Use was designed to assist every household in Ireland in dealing with rising energy costs and supporting positive behaviour change. | May-22 | Aug-22 | Radio, Press, Display, Social | Mediavest T/A Spark Foundry | € 307,000.15 |
| Reduce Your Use - Burst 2 | Reduce Your Use was designed to assist every household in Ireland in dealing with rising energy costs and supporting positive behaviour change. | Jul-22 | Aug-22 | Radio, Press, Display, Social | PHD Media Ireland | € 274,839.00 |
| Reduce Your Use - Burst 3 | Reduce Your Use was designed to assist every household in Ireland in dealing with rising energy costs and supporting positive behaviour change. | Oct-22 | Dec-22 | TV, Outdoor, Radio, Press, Cinema, Display, VOD, Social, Digital Audio, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 2,418,821.00 |
| Climate | ||||||
| Climate Conversations | Campaign inviting people across the country to have their say on the Climate Action Plan and how we can all play our part in securing our sustainable future. | Jul-22 | Sep-22 | Radio, Social Media | PHD Media Ireland | € 43,043.00 |
| Clean Air | ||||||
| Solid Fuel Regulations | Campaign to publicise solid fuels regulations. | Aug-22 | Nov-22 | OOH, Display, Radio, Display, Digital Audio | PHD Media Ireland | € 90,705.00 |
| Let's clear the air – Burst 1 | Campaign to raise awareness of impacts of air pollution and the health of our communities. | Nov-22 | Dec-22 | TV, Radio, Press, VOD, Display, Digital Audio, Social, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 382,644.00 |
| Circular Economy | ||||||
| It’s Time to Get Circular – Burst 1 | Campaign to raise awareness of the circular economy and sustainable practices. | Oct-22 | Nov-22 | Radio, Press, Social, Digital Audio | PHD Media Ireland | € 108,569.00 |
| Cyber Security | ||||||
| Phishing Awareness | Campaign to raise awareness on fraudulent phishing emails used by attackers to lure people into disclosing personal details or clicking on malicious links. | Oct-22 | Oct-22 | Radio, Press | PHD Media Ireland | € 45,350.00 |
| 2023 | ||||||
| Clean Air | ||||||
| Let's clear the air - Burst 2 | Campaign to raise awareness of impacts of air pollution and the health of our communities. | Jan-23 | Feb-23 | TV, Radio, Press, VOD, Display, Digital Audio, Social | PHD Media Ireland | € 254,963.00 |
| Let's clear the air - Burst 3 | Campaign to raise awareness of impacts of air pollution and the health of our communities. | Oct-23 | Dec-23 | TV, Radio, VOD, Digital Audio, Display, Social, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 394,013.00 |
| Energy | ||||||
| Reduce Your Use - Burst 4 | Reduce Your Use was designed to assist every household in Ireland in dealing with rising energy costs and supporting positive behaviour change. | Jan-23 | Apr-23 | Cinema, TV, Radio, Press, VOD, Digital Audio, Display, Partnership, Social, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 1,789,697.00 |
| Reduce Your Use - Burst 5 | Reduce Your Use was designed to assist every household in Ireland in dealing with rising energy costs and supporting positive behaviour change. | May-23 | Sep-23 | Radio, Partnership, Display, Social, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 379,244.00 |
| Reduce Your Use - Burst 6 | Reduce Your Use was designed to assist every household in Ireland in dealing with rising energy costs and supporting positive behaviour change. | Dec-23 | Dec-23 | Radio, Outdoor, Press, Partnership, display, Digital Audio, Social | PHD Media Ireland | € 360,247.00 |
| Circular Economy | ||||||
| It’s Time to Get Circular – Burst 2 | Campaign to raise awareness of the circular economy and sustainable practices. | Oct-23 | Dec-23 | Radio, Partnership, VOD, Digital Audio, Social, Display, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 237,285.00 |
| Climate | ||||||
| Climate Conversations 2023 | Campaign inviting people across the country to have their say on the Climate Action Plan and how we can all play our part in securing our sustainable future. | Jul-23 | Sep-23 | Radio, Display, Social | PHD Media Ireland | € 38,928.00 |
| Cyber Security | ||||||
| Cyber Security Awareness 2023 | Campaign on steps that can be taken to prevent and mitigate cyber security risks. | Sep-23 | Nov-23 | Radio, Social | PHD Media Ireland | € 42,473.00 |
| The Second Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP II): Public consultation campaign | Campaign inviting people to give their views on the second Offshore Renewable Energy Development Plan (OREDP II) – Ireland’s new national spatial strategy for our offshore renewable energy future. | 44958 | 45017 | Radio, Press, Partnership, Social, Display | PHD Media Ireland | € 76,980.00 |
| 2024 | ||||||
| Clean Air | ||||||
| Let's clear the air - Burst 4 | Campaign to raise awareness of impacts of air pollution and the health of our communities. | Jan-24 | Mar-24 | TV, Radio, VOD, Partnerships, Digital Audio, Display, Social Media, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 179,889.00 |
| Let's clear the air - Burst 5 | Campaign to raise awareness of impacts of air pollution and the health of our communities. | Dec-24 | Dec-24 | TV, Radio, Partnerships, Digital Audio, Display, VOD, Social Media, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 355,389.00 |
| Energy | ||||||
| Reduce Your Use - Burst 7 | Reduce Your Use was designed to assist every household in Ireland in dealing with rising energy costs and supporting positive behaviour change. | Jan-24 | Mar-24 | Outdoor, Radio, Press, Partnerships, Display, Digital Audio, Social, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 918,976.00 |
| Reduce Your Use - Burst 8 | Reduce Your Use was designed to assist every household in Ireland in dealing with rising energy costs and supporting positive behaviour change. | Aug-24 | Oct-24 | Partnership, Display, Social, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 33,841.00 |
| Climate | ||||||
| Climate Conversations 2024 | Campaign inviting people across the country to have their say on the Climate Action Plan and how we can all play our part in securing our sustainable future. | May-24 | Sep-24 | Radio, Partnership, Display, Social | PHD Media Ireland | € 41,092.00 |
| Climate Action Works 2024 | Climate Actions Work was a national campaign and programme of engagement on climate action, inviting people and communities across Ireland to be part of the conversation about climate change. | Sep-24 | Nov-24 | Radio, Press, Partnerships, Display, VOD, Digital Audio, Social Media, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 379,037.00 |
| Circular Economy | ||||||
| Reverse the trend | Campaign aims to raise awareness of alternatives to frequent purchasing of clothing and some of the environmental impacts of over-consumption of textiles. | Sep-24 | Dec-24 | Radio, Partnership, Digital Audio, Display, Social | PHD Media Ireland | € 321,227.01 |
| It’s Time to Get Circular – Burst 3 | Campaign to raise awareness of the circular economy and sustainable practices. | Sep-24 | Oct-24 | Radio, VOD, Partnerships, Display, Digital Audio, Social Media, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 128,024.00 |
| Cyber Security | ||||||
| NIS2 | Awareness campaign on NIS2 Directive, EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity. It was introduced to strengthen and harmonise cyber security across the European Union, and to keep-up with increased digitisation and an evolving cybersecurity threat landscape | Oct-24 | Oct-24 | Radio, Press, Display, Social, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 112,528.00 |
| 2025 | ||||||
| Let's clear the air - Burst 6 | Campaign to raise awareness of impacts of air pollution and the health of our communities. | Jan-25 | Mar-25 | TV, Radio, Partnerships, Digital Audio, VOD, Display, Social, Search | PHD Media Ireland | € 293,348.00 |
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