Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In the Haddington Road agreement we just discussed, there is a paragraph on the use of external consultants by public bodies which states:

The staff side have expressed considerable concern at what they believe to be excessive use of external consultants in the public service. The Government, for its part, shares these concerns ... The recent procurement reform programme to achieve between €250 million to €600 million of savings is welcomed. It is expected that savings in consultancy contracts will be a key element of this programme.

As it is obviously envisaged that this will be a substantial chunk of the savings, will the Minister shed some light on them? What is the total annual cost of external consultants to the public service?

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