Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Question 38: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will detail, in tabular form, the total photography costs for his Department since coming to office inclusive of costs incurred from use of the Ministerial allowance; the list of occasions for which photographers were booked; the photographers used; the breakdown of costs associated with each occasion that a photographer was used; if there is a policy regarding the booking of photographers within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24753/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The total spend by my Department on photography since March 2011 is €71,501.62. The table below outlines the costs associated with each occasion.

*It was not possible in the time available to provide a detailed breakdown. My Department only utilises the services of official photographic agencies where it is warranted, in particular, for major events and State occasions. This is a service which my Department provides so that the media can easily and freely avail of photography for important events where their own staff photographers cannot be fully accommodated. As the table indicates there were a significant number of such events in 2011. In September 2011, my Department led a collaborative advertised tender process for the procurement of a multi-supplier competitive framework of photographic service providers. This is now available for use by all Government Departments. Details of the new framework arrangements are posted on the National Procurement Service website: www.procurement.ie/suppliers/contracts/1298 . The purpose of this framework is to ensure Departments' compliance with EU procurement rules and to ensure value for money by having a competitive process for photographic assignments.