Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 213: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount paid out annually from public funds for outsourcing to private contractors and the use of consultants and agencies for all Departments of the civil and public service and State agencies, and a breakdown of these figures in tabular form on a Department/authority/agency basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38269/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The functions of my Department were previously encompassed under the ambit of the Minister for Finance and information in respect of the full year 2010 will be provided directly to the Deputy under cover of that Department's reply in due course.

In relation to procurement generally, the Centre for Management and Organisation Development (CMOD) in my Department (formerly the responsibility of the Department of Finance) has put in place an array of procurement frameworks for a range of high-value telecommunications services and products for use by all of the non-commercial public service. Additionally, CMOD has put in place a number of central systems, infrastructures and drawdown facilities. All of these arrangements have resulted in significantly lower costs for public bodies (ranging from 20% to 70% of prevailing prices) and considerably reduced the administrative burdens that would otherwise arise with individual procurement efforts.