Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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306. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the overall budget allocated for the project regarding fees paid to a consultancy in respect of the reorganisation of his Department; the sums paid to date on all aspects of same; the estimated projected costs to the conclusion of the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44514/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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In January 2019, my Department commenced work on a major Transformation Programme. This programme was established on foot of the recommendations of the independent Effectiveness and Renewal Group (ERG) for a radical restructuring of the Department.

Given the scale and ambition of the programme, which involved moving from a conceptual design to a fully implemented new operating model within nine months, the ERG recommended the procurement of an external resource to assist the internal team in the Department to implement the transformation.

Following a competitive procurement process (supported by the Office of Government Procurement), EY were appointed to partner with the Department on the project.

The total cost that the Department will incur in respect to the consultancy fees regarding the reorganisation of the Department is €3,513,114. To date, the Department has paid €2,970,450 with the remaining balance of €542,664 to be paid in due course. Information on costs related to external consultant support is also available as a matter of public record on the Department website at under the ‘Timeline and key facts & figures’ heading. All costs quoted are inclusive of VAT.