Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 438: To ask the Minister for Defence the amount of expenditure in consultancy by his Department in 2006 and 2007; the numbers of consultants engaged by his Department in those years; the names of the consultancy companies awarded contracts; the steps which have been taken to reduce the expenditure on consultancy and the reliance on consultants by his Department in these years and for the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42577/08]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The information sought by the Deputy in relation to consultants is outlined in the following table.

There is an ongoing capital building programme in my Department designed to modernise the living, training, operational and accommodation facilities available to the Defence Forces, both Permanent and Reserve. There has been an unprecedented level of spending on the programme to date with over €250 million spent since 1999. This year will see a further €26 million invested in the programme. As a result of this significant increase in the building programme, consultants with appropriate expertise are engaged by my Department as necessary to provide technical services in connection with building and engineering projects.

It should be noted that (as per Comptroller and Auditor General, Report on Value for Money "Consultancies in the Civil Service" 1998) such design and engineering consultancies for capital projects are better examined in association with the construction projects to which they relate. My Department spends approximately €2m annually on construction consultants' fees. In addition, consultants with appropriate expertise are engaged by my Department as necessary to provide technical services in connection with psychometric testing for Army, Naval Service and Air Corps cadetships and trainee technicians.

My Department is always mindful of the costs involved in engaging consultants. External consultants are engaged only when there is a clear need for specialised expertise and following a rigorous examination of skills and resources available in-house. Considerable resources continue to be devoted to the training and development of staff. Particular emphasis has been placed on developing analysis and research capabilities. Four serving members of staff have been trained to Masters degree level in Policy Analysis in recent years.