Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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50. To ask the Taoiseach the amount spent on public relations, promotion and advertising, including multimedia, in his Department in each of the years 2016 to 2018 and to date in 2019 (details supplied) in tabular form [48253/19]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The following table contains the yearly outlays by my Department in these cost areas. The breakdown covers digital advertising consisting of search to ensure that the public is directed to the sites which deliver the services/information they are looking for and sponsored posts to ensure strong dissemination of Government Information. It also includes traditional media such as print and creative production.

The bulk of the 2019 spend is on the provision of communication and public relations work for the IBRC Commission, which is an independent statutory commission established under the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004.

In addition, the 2019 figure includes public information activities for the appointment of judges and the Budget.

Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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51. To ask the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the amount spent on purchasing mobile telephones for staff within his Department for work-related business in each of the years 2016 to 2018 and to date in 2019, by grade; if his Department has a contract with a mobile telephone company (details supplied) to supply mobile phones if needed; if so, the name of the company; the date on which the contract for the supply of mobile telephones to his Department is next due to expire; and the robust steps taken to ensure that the costs incurred on work related telephones are the best value for the taxpayer. [47918/19]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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The expenditure on purchasing mobile phones for staff in my Department for work-related business in each of the years 2016 to 2018 and to date in 2019 is detailed in the following table.

Mobile phones are purchased in batches and allocated/replaced as required. Handsets are also redeployed when staff leave my Department. Accordingly, it is not possible to break down this spend by staff grade. The breakdown of phones currently assigned to staff in my Department by grade is:

All mobile phones are issued to staff based on an approved business case. My Department had a contract with Vodafone for supply of mobile phones, which has now expired. My Department is in the process of moving to the ‘Desktop as a Service’ managed ICT service delivery model provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO). As part of this service, the Department will procure mobile phones from the OGCIO’s contract, which will be based on the most up-to-date framework available from the Office of Government Procurement. Using this framework will ensure that my Department will leverage the considerable buying power of the Public Service to ensure the best value for the taxpayer is achieved.