Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last year, before any of the recent farce relating to the national children's hospital came to full public prominence, I submitted a parliamentary question to the Minister and his other Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. I was genuinely surprised to find that in one year alone, 2018, the Department spent €3.5 million on consultancy firms. According to that answer, PwC received €44,500 and now the Minister is telling me that it is €73,000. There is a disparity when it comes to getting the correct answer to parliamentary questions. The Minister said it was €73,000, but the previous answer said it was €44,000, and that figure was for what the Department described as operational support and strategic advisory consultancy. Will the Minister accept that when the public hears these kinds of sums being thrown around for private consultancy firms it does nothing to persuade people that any meaningful value for money takes place at all?

Will the Minister also explain why there appears to be a huge overlap in relation to work being undertaken by different consultancy firms, in case the Minister thinks that I am picking on PwC, which I am not? For example, last year, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform paid Gartner €182,000 for advisory services. It also paid Horizon Energy €230,000. What is all this money for? What is the Department getting for this sort of money?

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