David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

231. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated full-year savings for 2017 from reducing spending on professional fees by 10% in her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14114/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

A reduction of 10% in spending on professional fees would yield an estimated full year savings of approximately €6.7m, based on past trends. It should be noted that the majority of spend on professional fees in my Department relates to legal expenses which have been subject to significant cost control measures over recent years.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

232. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated full-year saving for 2017 from reducing spending on travel by 10% in her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14130/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The nature of official travel costs are that this is driven by the varied work undertaken by my Department, including in European and international fora, and consequently it is not possible to accurately predict the outturn. All official travel is conducted in line with civil service regulations and is carefully monitored and undertaken only when absolutely necessary for official business purposes. A reduction of 10% in the cost of travel in my Department would yield approximately €90,000 in full year savings.