Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach
Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 7 - Office of the Minister for Finance (Revised)
Vote 8 - Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Revised)
Vote 9 - Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Revised)
Vote 10 - Tax Appeals Commission (Revised)
Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Under subhead A4, consultancy and other services, the estimate is €748,000 for the current year, which is less than the estimate for 2022 but is significantly higher than the projected outturn. I understand that much of that cost relates to the joint research work that is done with the ESRI. We can provide more granular detail on that, if required. Subhead B4, consultancy and other services, under the banking and financial services policy division, includes work, for example, on SME finance, mortgage arrears and personal debt.
To the Deputy's question, I have been in the Department for the past couple of months. I am very impressed with the quality of the people there. It is not a huge Department. A little more than 300 people work there. While it has a significant amount of expertise, there will undoubtedly be a need to buy or contract in external expertise on a regular basis. Very often, that can be done in partnership with other bodies, such as public bodies like the ESRI.