Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 303 and 304 together.

The table below outlines details of fees paid for professional services as defined by the deduction of withholding tax by my Department between 1^stJune 2013 and 31^stMay 2014.

My Department administers a very diverse, complex and extremely technical brief. It has a total complement of around 250 full time equivalent staff of whom a limited number are technical personnel. This reality necessarily requires my Department to procure specialist external professional advice notably in legal, financial and technical areas to assist in discharging its functions. In procuring these specialised services, my Department always seeks to ensure value for money and that these professional services contribute to project delivery and informed, robust and evidence based policy making. Furthermore, in relation to the competitive tendering for contracts, my Department adheres to the relevant EU Regulations and Department of Finance Guidelines on the procurement of goods and services.

Applying a unilateral 20% reduction in professional fees would reduce the amount paid by approximately €1m. This figure is however a mathematical exercise, as the competitive tendering process ensures a market rate is obtained for the professional services being delivered.

Professional fees paid by the Department of Communications Energy and Natural Resources