Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 332: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform if any printing contracts for his Department were awarded or given to any company from outside the State in each of the past three years, and if so the company appointed and their location; the amount of the contract; if tendering took place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40253/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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My Department uses only one company outside of Ireland for printing purposes. The work in question is in respect of the printing of visa stickers. The company, based in Paris, has successfully produced Irish visa stickers for several years on behalf of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service. A core consideration in accessing such services is that the company is a recognised and reputable provider of such visa stickers to several European countries. In order to minimise illegal immigration and fraud, visa stickers utilise a range of essential and complex security features such as hologram, unique serial number identification and other specialised printing features, and they must conform to a very detailed EU standard.