Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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250. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the expenditure on consultancy by her Department; the number of consultants engaged by her Department in the years 2011 to 2014; the names of the consultancy companies awarded contracts; and the steps which have been taken to reduce expenditure and reliance on consultants by her Department in these years and for the future. [18959/15]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht was established on 2 June 2011. The table below lists the consultants engaged by my Department from that date in 2011 to 2014, together with the associated payments made from my Department's Administrative Budget. Spending on consultants is kept to a minimum and fell over the period 2012 to 2014. Where consultants are engaged, value for money is a key consideration in deciding where contracts are awarded. For completeness, I should add that contracts for the provision of services are not included. My Department also commissions engineering or environmental experts from time to time to provide technical reports on specific issues as required. While the providers of these services are consultant engineers, environmental consultants or may describe themselves in other such terms, their work is not classified as "consultancy services and policy reviews" and is not funded from my Department's Administrative Budget.