Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 235: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the savings to date in 2009 yielded from the 8% reduction in professional fees introduced in February 2009; the savings he expects to be made as a result of this 8% reduction in 2009 as a whole; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42641/09]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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In February 2009, the Government mandated the securing of a general reduction of 8 per cent in all professional fees, including medical, construction, financial and legal-related fees. The Department, including the National Archives, is not a significant user of these professional services, so the scope for savings in monetary terms was and is correspondingly very limited. Nevertheless, to date, savings of approximately €4,838 have been realised, with approximately a further €1,400 in savings anticipated by year end, bringing the total savings for 2009 as a whole to approximately €6,238. In addition to these quantifiable savings, in certain cases, new procurement exercises have been conducted in order to achieve up-to-date market rates for services.