Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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105. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of money her Department spent on purchasing copies of the Public Sector Times magazine in 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15420/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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My Department did not incur any expenditure in relation to the purchasing of the Public Sector Times in 2015.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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106. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of money spent on daily newspapers in 2015; if this is an appropriate expenditure given the available and far cheaper online alternatives; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15436/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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My Department incurred expenditure totalling €14,411.85 on daily newspapers in 2015. In addition the Irish Prison Service (IPS) incurred expenditure totalling €37,798 in 2015 for newspapers and other publications. The IPS amount covers all publications including newspapers and it is not possible to provide a breakdown for daily newspapers only.

At present this expenditure is considered appropriate. It is not always possible to access relevant articles on-line. Also newspapers are shared between multiple staff members and also between Divisions, something that would not be possible with on-line subscriptions.

However, my Department regularly reviews all expenditure made in order to get the best value for money.