Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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53. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the total amount spent on external IT consultants by her Department in 2010 to 2013, inclusive, and to date in 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49177/14]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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54. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has renegotiated external IT consultancy contracts and costs since March 2011; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49192/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 54 together.

The Department is engaged in a number of service delivery modernisation and transformation programmes involving business process, organisational and technological change. These programmes are supported by the procurement of separate external development services (IT external service provision) as well as engagement of external IT consultants to provide strategic technical advice. A breakdown of the annual expenditure on consultancy & IT external service provision for previous years is available on the Department’s website.

The procurement of external IT consultancy services is essential to support the Department in providing high quality service to the public in a cost effective and efficient manner. External IT consultants are engaged for a fixed period following procurement exercises conducted in accordance with Department procedures that are compliant with EU and national legislation and with guidelines set down by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. IT consultancy contracts in place prior to March 2011 have now expired. New contracts have since been put in place as appropriate and in accordance with relevant guidelines.

The expenditure details for IT consultancy for the years 2008 to 2013, and to 11 December 2014, are set out in the following tables.

I am satisfied that the engagement of external IT consultants provides valuable support for the Department’s service delivery modernisation and transformation programmes and that procurement of external IT consultants is compliant with best practice in realising value for money.

IT Consultancy

Year 2008