‘Astonishing’: RSA spent €30m on media campaigns since 2023

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has paid out about €30 million over the past four years on advertising and external public relations.

Details of the payments are set out in answer to a parliamentary question at a time when the agency is coming under pressure over rising numbers of deaths on the roads.

Social Democrats transport spokesman Aidan Farrelly said on Wednesday he had now requested the RSA be invited to appear before the Dáil’s Committee of Public Accounts (PAC), of which he is a member.

The RSA said it had paid about €21 million since 2023 to contractor Spark Foundry for strategic media planning and the purchase of all advertising for the agency.

“This includes 10–12 television-led campaigns annually, as well as a number of secondary campaigns across other media, including social media, radio, video on demand, display advertising and out-of-home advertising,” it said.

“Services include campaign set-up, campaign optimisation and performance management. Through this contract, the RSA benefits from discounted rates that would not otherwise be available to it.”

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The RSA also said it paid about €7 million to another company, Forsman & Bodenfors, since 2023.

It said this was for “strategic development of creative advertising campaigns, including television advertisements, brand strategy and identity, creative strategy, graphic design; digital content creation, advertising creative, copywriting, content development, pre-campaign research and the management of usage rights across awareness campaigns”.

The RSA also said it paid about €1.5 million over the period from 2023 to public relations company Drury.

It said this was for strategic public and media relations, public affairs, crisis communications, social media support, content creation, stakeholder engagement and event management, including the annual international conference.

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Other services included media monitoring, issues-management support, media training, proactive communications, bespoke initiatives, photography and the organisation of media briefings and events, including the preparation of speaking notes.

Farrelly said expenditure of €30 million by the RSA since 2023 was “astonishing”.

“I have asked State bodies the same question and responses continue to land on my desk in relation to communications and public relations spending, and the RSA are certainly an outlier when it comes to this type of spending,” he said.

“I have requested that the RSA appear before the PAC and I fully intend to question them further on the financial statements from recent years.

“It would be interesting to probe whether any of the service providers had a hand in the development of the now-defunct plan to install breathalysers in pubs.”

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In the parliamentary question, the RSA was asked for details on external communications and/or public relations services provided to the RSA from 2023 to date in 2026, including the costs incurred, the service provider, and the nature or a summary of the services provided.

The RSA said a programme of work was agreed annually with each communications agency. “Although the specific topics may vary, the nature of the services provided remains broadly consistent,” it said.

“The costs ... represent the total expenditure incurred in each year and include both contractor fees and third-party costs, such as those associated with production houses, venue hire, photographers and media outlets.”

It said all services were delivered by suppliers appointed through frameworks established by the Office of Government Procurement.

“The RSA applies appropriate governance and oversight arrangements to all communications expenditure. Media expenditure is subject to independent annual audit, and campaign performance is reviewed to inform future communications activity.”