Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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207. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the amount paid out to all consultancy firms for any services rendered; and the cost per contract for the year-to-date 2023, in tabular form [31686/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department considers hiring external consultants in cases where there is not the necessary expertise to deliver the project in-house, in cases where an external assessment is deemed essential, or in cases where a project must be completed within a short time scale, and although the expertise or experience may be available in-house, performing the task would involve a prohibitive opportunity cost.

My Department complies with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform's guidelines for engagements of consultants by the civil service, having regard to public procurement guidelines.

To date in 2023, my Department has paid €174,706 to consultancy firms for their services. The cost per contract for the year to date is set out in tabular form below: