Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 1400: To ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport the amount her Department spent in each of the last three years and in the first six months of this year on mobile telephone bills; the number of staff within the Department who have telemobile phones paid by the Department; the mobile telephone operator that has the contract for supplying this service; the tender, if any, that applies to the service being provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33646/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The following table outlines the expenditure by the Department on mobile phone bills. The expenditure in the National Archives is included as it forms an integral component of the Department.

Including those in the National Archives, there are 45 staff currently with mobile phones provided by the Department. As the Deputy will appreciate the use of mobile phones is vital to the effective operation of the Department which has decentralised to Killarney as staff can be in contact while travelling between the offices in Killarney and Dublin, between meetings and, of course, outside of normal office hours.

Vodafone is the mobile phone operator currently contracted to supply service to both the Departmental headquarters and the National Archives. The current contract in respect of the Departmental headquarters was agreed in August 2009 while the National Archives contract was agreed in March 2010. Both contracts were agreed following completion of a competitive tendering process carried out under the Mobile Voice and Data Services Framework.