Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 February 2026
1243. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of Irish citizens who returned to the State as a direct or indirect result of the “Build Back Home” advertising campaign run by his Department in 2024 and 2025, respectively; the methodology used by his Department to measure campaign outcomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9491/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra1244. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science whether his Department carried out any cost-benefit analysis, value-for-money assessment, or post-campaign evaluation in respect of the “Build Back Home” advertising campaign conducted in Canada, Australia, and the United States in 2024 and 2025; whether any key performance indicators were set in advance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9492/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra1245. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the procurement process used for the “Build Back Home” advertising campaign in 2024 and 2025; the advertising channels utilised, including digital platforms, recruitment platforms, and media buys; the total expenditure per channel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9493/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1243, 1244 and 1245 together.
Ireland needs people with construction skills and experience to deliver ambitious targets for new housing and infrastructure and there are lots of opportunities for Irish construction workers who have moved abroad and are considering returning.
In advance of planning the Build Back Home campaign, my Department carried out market research with Irish construction workers abroad to discover the barriers to returning home.
The research revealed that Irish workers abroad are aware of a pipeline of significant construction opportunities back home and many want to return to work on these projects. However, they are afraid that their overseas experience will not be valued and that too much red tape will make moving back home difficult.
The Build Back Home campaign aims to reassure that experience gained abroad will be valued at home, to dispel many of the myths around the barriers to moving back home, and accelerate the decision to move home.
In relation to the question concerning how many individuals have returned to Ireland as a direct result of the Build Back Home campaign, I can advise that returning migrants are not surveyed or required to state whether an ad campaign influenced their decision to come home.
However we do closely monitor the campaign’s reach and engagement, which provide a strong indication that the target audience has been effectively reached:
• The radio ad reached 1.3 million listeners.
• Campaign videos were viewed 6.2 million times across digital platforms.
• The wider digital and social media campaign generated more than 20 million impressions.
• Importantly, 139,000 people visited the government website to learn more about opportunities to “build back home,” with 95% of those visitors coming from North America, Canada, and Australia, regions where many Irish construction workers currently reside.
These metrics confirm that the campaign achieved substantial visibility and engagement among its target audience. The evidence demonstrates that the campaign successfully delivered its message at scale and provided clear information for those considering a move home.
While definitive causal effects cannot be concluded, the campaign will have had a contributory effect on the following key metrics:
• 18% increase in All Construction Workforce (Source: CSO 2025)
• 31% increase in Housing Construction Workforce (Source: CSO 2025)
The media spend, allocated to my Department under Housing for All funding, by channel is detailed in the following table.
|
|
2024 |
2025 |
|
Media Spend |
€41,766 |
€195,246 |
|
% split by channel - Digital Audio - Social media - Outdoor - Digital Display - Video |
49% 24% 27% - - |
14% 37% - 33% 17% |
The digital platforms where the campaign was displayed included Irish news websites accessed from the US, Canada and Australia, along with programmatic buying which targets myriad sites accessed by Irish people working in construction in the US, Canada and Australia aged 25–35-year-old. The social media platforms used were Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
The key performance metrics set in advance for the campaign are:
|
Metric |
|
|
Awareness and Reach - Impressions (total number of times the ad is displayed) |
30 million |
|
Engagement - Video completion rate: Percentage of viewers who watch the full video |
50% |
|
Behavioural - Visits to campaign website |
100,000 |
The procurement processes for the 2024 and 2025 campaign are those outlined in the “Public Procurement Guidelines for Goods and Services” issued by the Office of Government Procurement.
