Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 61: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the total cost of the consultancies in his Department in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20033/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 202: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the total cost of the consultancies in his Department in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20333/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 228: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the total cost of consultancy services availed of by his Department in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20362/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 61, 202 and 228 together.

The total cost of consultancies in the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources in 2002 was €2.862 million, in 2003, €2.669 million and 2004, €2.381 million.

The total cost of consultancies in the former Department of the Marine and Natural Resources in the year 2000 was €734,000 and in 2001, €2.02 million.

This expenditure was charged to subhead A7, consultancy services, of the relevant Votes. The cost of consultancies may, in certain specific circumstances, be treated as a programme expenditure and charged to the relevant programme subhead. It has not been possible in the time available to compile details of consultancy expenditure from these subheads. I will arrange for this information to be forwarded to the Deputy shortly.

The Department's policy is to engage consultants only in the following circumstances: where specialised knowledge or expertise, which is not available in the Department or elsewhere in the civil or public service, is required for a temporary period; where a need for objectivity and-or independence is deemed essential; where a consultancy study is required by an external body, for example, the European Union; where a specialist study-project must be completed within a very short time scale; and where the specialised knowledge or expertise may be available within the Department but performing the task "in-house" would involve a prohibitive opportunity cost and-or would be impractical, for example, if staff engaged on other essential duties would have to be diverted.

The Department is particularly mindful of the value for money imperative and the need to deploy and develop in-house skills and services as far as possible in order to minimise the requirement for consultancies. The Department also seeks to avail of skills and experiences of other Departments or other parts of the public sector where appropriate.