Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the annual cost of printing reports by his Department and agencies under the control of his Department; the corresponding figure for annual reports; the cost of posting these reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2534/09]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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In respect of the year 2008, the cost of printing reports by the Department and the National Archives, together with any associated posting cost, are as set out in tabular form.

In respect of the Department's Annual Report 2007, published in 2008, no printing costs were incurred last year, as the in-house facilities of the Civil Service were used to produce a sufficient number of hard copies for distribution. The minimum number of copies was circulated by means of the normal postal service of An Post, the cost of which was minimal and for which separate postal cost records are not maintained.

In the current budgetary environment, the Department is actively seeking to minimise all its administrative costs without affecting the outputs of the Department. In the case of the production of reports, this is facilitated by using in-house printing and/or photocopying facilities and by making best use of the Department's website, where soft-copy versions of reports are posted for unlimited download free of charge by its customers. The production and distribution of reports prepared by the agencies under the aegis of the Department are matters for the agencies themselves and not for the Department.