Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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116. To ask the Taoiseach the amount of expenditure on consultancy by his Department in each of the years 2015 to 2017; the number of consultants engaged by his Department in those years; the names of the consultancy companies awarded contracts; and the steps which have been taken to reduce the expenditure on consultancy and the reliance on consultants by his Department in these years and for the future. [15197/18]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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During the period in question, just one consultancy company was engaged by my Department. The details are set out in the table below:

My Department has not had a requirement for this specific type of consultancy since 2015 because my Department participates in the Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey carried out by the Central Statistics Office under the Civil Service Renewal Plan.

Any decision by my Department to engage consultants in the future would, like any other planned expenditure, be based on a carefully identified business need, with a firm focus on ensuring value for money.