Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 307: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the total amount paid to a consultancy company (details supplied) since 1997; the details of each of the contracts and services provided; the nature of controls applied in the procurement process; and if value for money has been achieved. [29565/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The total amount paid to Gartner by my Department since 1997 was €152,936.82. The details are as follows: £7,615.49 — equivalent to €9,669.68 — was spent on consultancy advisory service in 1997; £14,238.52 — equivalent to €18,079.19 — was spent on Datapro communications library-research advisory services in 1998; £273.40 — equivalent to €347.15 — was spent on research advisory services on web in 1999; £32,414.17 — equivalent to €41,157.51 — was spent on research advisory services in 2000; €26,041.30 was spent on research advisory services in 2001; no such payments were made in 2002 and 2003; €47,036.82 was spent on project evaluation in 2004; and €2,141.21 was spent on project evaluation and €8,463.96 on strategic reports documentation in 2005. The correct controls in awarding the contracts and the ongoing monitoring of the projects were applied at all times and value for money was achieved in all cases on behalf of the State.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 308: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the total amount paid to a consultancy company (details supplied) since 1997; the details of each of the contracts and services provided; the nature of controls applied in the procurement process; and if value for money has been achieved. [29580/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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This company was appointed by the Department in 2002. It was appointed to provide consultancy assistance and advice on the implementation of a new financial management information system. The appointment was as a result of a competitive tender.

The tender outlined in detail the tasks to be performed by the successful company, required the tenderer to outline in detail how they proposed to fulfill the requirements and to provide a detailed breakdown of costs per employee proposed. The contract was awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender. The contract was completed on time during 2003 at a total cost of €99,950 and I am satisfied that value for money was achieved. The Department was billed monthly in arrears.