Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 352: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the guidelines in place for the commissioning of outside expertise in the consultancy and public relations fields; and if ministerial approval is required for approval of expenditure on such commissions. [30156/05]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 353: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the percentage of reports, consultancies and cases from external commissions where the issue of poor value for money in his Department was highlighted, from 1998 to date in 2005. [30171/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 352 and 353 together.

In commissioning outside expertise, my Department is guided by a number of publications and circulars issued by the Department of Finance. These include Guidelines for Engagement of Consultants in the Civil Service, March 1999; Public Procurement Guidelines — Competitive Process, 2004; Ethics in Public Procurement, June 2005; and Guidance arising from Quigley Report Recommendations, September 2005.

We are also guided by the protocols set out in the February 2005 guidelines issued by the Department of the Taoiseach entitled "Additional Procedures to apply to certain consultancies and procurements". Within the context of Vote 29, International Co-operation, a number of detailed guideline documents outline the specific procedures to be used by the development co-operation division of my Department. These include Financial Policy Guidelines and Procedures Manual, April 2005; Guidelines on Project Appraisal and Evaluation Group, PAEG, Processes and the Preparation of PAEG Documents, April 2005; and Guidelines for Procuring Goods and Services, May 2004.

These guidelines are applied in the operation of all projects and programmes under the aegis of Development Co-operation Ireland, including consultancies and public relations. The pattern of consultancies carried out by the development co-operation division is, in the main, for small-scale commissions, typically less than €30,000 in value.

The Department's evaluation and audit unit examines consultancy contracts commissioned by the development co-operation division. This consultancy work was also reviewed by the independent audit committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs. In its annual report for 2004, the audit committee did not indicate any value for money concerns around specific consultancies. It endorsed the recommendations made by the evaluation and audit unit for continued improvement in the management of consultancies.

Ministerial approval is not required for the engagement of outside expertise and I have had no personal involvement in the process. Approval of expenditure in this regard is a matter for the departmental accounting officer. Inevitably, there are variations in the quality of the advice or expertise received from external commissions but the Department insists upon the highest standards in achieving value for money in the commissioning of any outside expertise.