Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 860: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the amount spent by his Department on opinion polling and focus group research in each of the years 2007 to 2010, inclusive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1167/11]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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During 2008 and 2009 my Department carried out a number of Focus Groups around the country. The main objectives of the Focus Groups were:

To promote awareness of the benefits of the Departments on-line service and Agfood.ie;

Gain insight into farmers' attitudes towards farming in Ireland; and

To assess farmer attitudes towards my Department.

The cost of the Focus Groups in the two years in which they operated 2008 and 2009 were €28,009 and €14,363 respectively.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 861: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of mobile telephones paid for by public bodies under his remit in each of the years 2006 to 2010, inclusive; the cost of paying mobile telephone bills in each of those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1183/11]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The numbers and costs associated with the use of mobile telephones is an operational matter for the State Bodies/Agencies under the aegis of my Department.

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 862: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the number of mobile telephones paid for by his Department in each of the years 2006 to 2010, inclusive; the total cost of paying mobile telephone bills in each of those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1198/11]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Details of the number of mobile telephones paid for and the amount spent during the requested periods are shown in the following table:

My Department makes extensive use of mobile telephony and related technologies in the delivery of services to its customers and in supporting a mobile workforce.

Following an EU procurement exercise conducted by the Department of Finance, a mobile phone Framework Agreement was established to provide non-commercial public sector bodies with a streamlined procedure for the procurement of mobile voice and data services at competitive rates from a list of qualified vendors. The Framework Agreement is intended to maximise volume discounts and provide for reductions in administrative and transaction costs for providers and public sector purchasers. My Department has run a number of competitions under the Framework for its mobile voice and data services. In each case the successful vendor was the most economically advantageous tender.