Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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My Department comprises two separate votes, Vote 28 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Vote 27 International Co-operation.

The total amounts spent on professional fees in 2015 was as follows:

The application of 10% reduction to this expenditure would result in a savings of approximately €0.7m.

The Department engages a range of professional external service providers in a number of areas where the required skills are not available in-house and it is more cost-effective to source these services externally.

Decisions on the need to commission and engage outside expertise are subject to the establishment of appropriate business cases and an approvals process carried out by Senior Management in the Department.

These services are procured by open competitive tender in accordance with EU and national rules and comply with the overall value for money objective of the Department. This is particularly relevant in relation to the external services engaged for the independent monitoring and evaluation of Ireland’s programme of overseas development assistance, Irish Aid.

In-depth analysis of issues by external experts has informed and continues to inform the Department’s policies, allowing for a more targeted use of resources and greater accountability in the allocation of budgets.

The level of expenditure on professional fees is constantly monitored to ensure that it does not exceed the level required to provide services to manage, oversee, monitor, evaluate and audit programmes and projects in the Department.

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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My Department comprises two separate votes, Vote 28 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Vote 27 International Co-operation.

The total amount spent on travel in 2015 is as per the following table:

The application of 10% reduction to this expenditure would result in a savings of approximately €0.6m.

Reductions of this kind to travel could not be made without severe disruption to the vital work of the Department.

Given the nature of my Department’s responsibilities, officers are obliged to undertake a significant amount of official travel. Travel and meetings often take place out of hours and away from the officer’s headquarters leading to travel and/or subsistence requirements. The central aim of the Departmental travel policy is to minimise official travel costs and to achieve value for money for expenditure necessarily incurred, consistent with the effective discharge of official duties.

The Department complies with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circulars in relation to subsistence payments.