Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

From time to time, we need to take on advice and consultancy to help us to redesign systems within the Department. My officials inform me that approximately 50% of this expenditure is for outside IT consultancy services and 50% for in-house work. We recruit people on temporary contracts to, for example, write code. They do not come cheaply but it is essential to take them on so that we can put in place systems that work. We also need to bring in consultants from time to time to help us redesign systems in order to accommodate new policy frameworks. Breaking down the figure for expenditure on IT services, it is approximately 50:50 in terms of in-house versus external consultancy.