Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Public Accounts Committee

2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 24 - Justice and Equality
Chapter 9 - State Pathology Building Project

10:55 am

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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There is quite a significant figure of €2.7 million allocated under a non-pay heading for the establishment of the Insolvency Service of Ireland. Is Mr. Purcell in a position to inform the committee, for example, of the level of external consultancies taken on by the Department or the insolvency service when it was being set up? A sum of €2.7 million under a non-pay heading seems high in the context of a total budget of €7.5 million last year to cover the establishment of the service and pay. I accept that there would have been once-off establishment costs, but can Mr. Purcell be clear on how that funding was spent on external consultancies engaged by the service or the Department in setting up the organisation?