Departmental Expenditure

Tuesday, 27 January 2026

Ceisteanna (1174)

Gary Gannon

Ceist:

1174. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide a breakdown of expenditure by his Department and bodies, agencies or organisations under his remit on paid verification services on a platform (details supplied) or any other verified account products, for each of the years 2023, 2024, 2025 and to date in 2026; the number of verified accounts held under each category; the annual cost per account; the total annual cost incurred; the procurement basis under which these services were purchased, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5640/26]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht

My Department has not incurred any expenditure on paid verification services or any other verified account products on the platform in question.There are eight agencies under the remit of my Department: An Coimisinéir Teanga, the Charities Regulator, Foras na Gaeilge, Pobal, Údarás na Gaeltachta, the Ulster-Scots Agency, Water Safety Ireland, and the Western Development Commission. They all are independent legal entities responsible for their own operational matters. Nonetheless, I am advised that An Coimisinéir Teanga, the Charities Regulator, Foras na Gaeilge, Pobal and Údarás na Gaeltachta have not incurred any such expenditure. Relevant expenditure incurred by the Ulster-Scots Agency, Water Safety Ireland, and the Western Development Commission is set out in the table below.

Agency	Year	Type of Service (Paid Verification / other verified account product)	Number of verified accounts	Annual cost per account	Total annual cost incurred	Procurement basis under which these services were purchased
Ulster Scots Agency	2023	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A
	2024	Premium account on X (includes verification)	1	£60	£60	Premium account was purchased on special offer primarily to provide analytics for data measurement and other enhanced features.
	2025	Premium account on X (includes verification)	1	£84	£84
	2026	Premium account on X (includes verification) No other planned expenditure for other ‘verified’ accounts	1	Estimated fee £84 to be billed in October 2026	£84	Premium account was purchased on special offer primarily to provide analytics for data measurement and other enhanced features.
Water Safety Ireland	2023	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A
	2024	Paid verification	1	€207	€207	Directly procured to allow WSI post more information than we would otherwise be allowed on the platform
	2025	Paid verification	1	€395	€395	Directly procured to allow WSI post more information than we would otherwise be allowed on the platform
	2026	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A
Western Development Commission	2023	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A
	2024	Paid verification	1	€ 168	€168	Direct Quotation Invitation
	2025	Paid verification	1	€168	€168	Direct Quotation Invitation
	2026	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil	N/A