Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

How many qualified professional accountants with professional experience and statisticians are employed in the Department of Finance? How many staff, other than the one assistant secretary of whom we all know, have experience working as economists in the private sector or in other sectors?

Does the Minister feel he got value from the €33 million he is reported to have spent on the services of three professional firms at the time of the banking crisis - one firm of accountants, one firm of lawyers and one firm of financial advisers?

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