Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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342. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills 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. [15199/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Details of consultancy payments made by my Department for the years 2015 to 2017 inclusive are available on the Department's website .

It is the policy of my Department to minimise to the greatest extent possible the use of external consultancy, however external consultants are hired occasionally in circumstances where particular expertise is not available internally and where it is deemed to add value and independence to the overall work of the Department.  My Department continues to monitor proposals to engage external consultants to ensure value for money.