Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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191. To ask the Minister for Defence if he will indicate, in tabular form, the total expenditure by his Department on external consultancy advice services, including legal services, in 2011, 2012 and 2013; if this spend is in line with the overall value for money objective of his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10010/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The tabular statement contains details of all the total expenditure by my Department on external consultancy advice services, including legal services, in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

My Department is always mindful of the costs involved in engaging consultants. In line with Department of Finance guidelines for engagement of consultants in the Civil Service, external consultants are engaged only when there is a clear need for specialised expertise and following a rigorous examination of skills and resources available in-house. The objective of using outside consultants is to ensure that my Department achieves value for money by implementing recommendations for improvements in order to maximise efficiency and effectiveness.