Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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349. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the total photography costs for his Department per annum since March 2011 inclusive of costs incurred from use of the ministerial allowance, in tabular form; the occasions for which photographers were booked; the photographers used; the breakdown of costs associated with each occasion that a photographer was used; if there is a policy regarding the booking of photographers within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39471/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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My Department only avails of the services of external photographic agencies where it is warranted, in particular for major events and State occasions. This is a service which my Department provides so that the media can easily and freely avail of photography where their own staff photographers cannot be fully accommodated. Events such as the visit of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall in May 2016, the visits of US Vice President Joe Biden in June 2016 and US Secretary of State John Kerry in October 2016, resulted in positive overseas media coverage of Ireland.

In September 2011, my Department led a collaborative advertised tender process for the procurement of a multi-supplier competitive framework of photographic service providers. T his is now available for use by all Government Departments. Details of the framework arrangements and the photographers used are posted on the National Procurement Service website: www.procurement.ie/suppliers/contracts/1298. The purpose of this framework is to ensure Departments’ compliance with EU procurement rules and to ensure value for money by having a competitive process for photographic assignments. In addition, my Department now makes greater use of in-house resources for photography, including, for example, at the Africa-Irish Economic Forum last June.

The total cost of photography to my Department for events which took place over the period to which the Deputy refers is listed below in tabular form. A small number of invoices for photography at events held during 2016 have yet to be received. It has not proved possible to give a complete breakdown of the costs by event for years 2011 and 2012. Nor has it proved possible in the time available to compile a breakdown of all the photography costs associated with the large number of events organized by Ireland’s network of 80 diplomatic missions abroad.

2011

HQ Total: €54,224.90

Missions Total: €6,436.63

Total: €60,661.53

2012

HQ Total: €31,638.34

Mission Total: €6,512.64

Total: €38,150.98

2013

HQ Total: €22,602.45

Mission Total: €12,752.34

Department Total 2013: €35,354.79

2016 – to date

HQ Total: €20,076.40

Mission Total: €10,030.36

Department Total 2016 to date: €30,106.76