Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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342. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht 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. [54434/13]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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344. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if his Department has re-negotiated external IT consultancy contracts and costs since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54466/13]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 342 and 344 together.

Since my Department was established on 2 June 2011, a total of €1,660 has been expended on external IT consultancy. This arose on one occasion in 2012 and was incurred in respect of the assessment of a wide-area networks procurement. In this instance, external and current network-market expertise was considered advisable to accord with best practice for this type of technical procurement. A further expenditure of a similar nature and cost may be incurred in 2014, when the procurement of diverse wide-area network links is considered.

My Department does not retain an external IT consultant on an ongoing contractual basis; rather it procures the required services as and when required.