Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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511. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total amount spent on external IT consultants by his Department in 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; the estimated spending in 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54433/13]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The information requested by the Deputy can be found in the attached table. The IT consultancy engagements concerned relate to quarterly independent assessments of the Department’s IT security measures as required for EU accreditation purposes and biannual independent security review of the Department's IT infrastructure. An independent review of all the Geographical Information based computer systems (GIS) in my Department was also carried out as this is an integral part of the effective and efficient administration of our EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) based payment schemes. The total amount spent on external IT consultants in each year is as follows:

It is estimated that the spend in 2014 will amount to some €108,000.