Written answers
Thursday, 20 April 2023
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Departmental Consultations
Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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211. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the details of each time his Department, or public bodies under the aegis of his Department, enlisted the services of consultants in 2022; the purpose and value of each contract; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18729/23]
Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department considers hiring external consultants in cases where there is not the necessary expertise to deliver the project in-house, in cases where an external assessment is deemed essential, or in cases where a project must be completed within a short time scale, and although the expertise or experience may be available in-house, performing the task would involve a prohibitive opportunity cost.
My Department complies with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform's guidelines for engagements of consultants by the civil service, having regard to public procurement guidelines.
Details of the purpose and value of consultancy projects undertaken by my Department and its Offices in 2022 are set out in the table below. Please note that, unless otherwise stated, the figures provided represent the actual expenditure in respect of the projects in 2022.
| Purpose of Consultancy | Value of Contract€ |
|---|---|
| Retail Sector Study 2021 (figure provided represents actual expenditure in 2022, total project value was €50,000 over 2021 and 2022) | 9,815 |
| Review of the Restart Grant | 114,193 |
| Audit of Small Business Assistance Scheme for Covid | 63,714 |
| Legal Research EU Directive on Collective Redress | 35,642 |
| Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund Review (figure provided represents actual expenditure in 2022, total project value was €50,000 over 2021 and 2022) | 8,530 |
| Joint DETE-ESRI Research Programme: The Productivity Challenge and Its Interaction with Climate, Digitalisation and Human Capital (figure provided represents actual expenditure in 2022, the project runs from 2021 to 2023 and DETE has committed to making available to the ESRI a sum not exceeding €400,000 to finance the work undertaken) | 94,109 |
| Climate Toolkit 4 Business | 8,641 |
| National Clustering Policy and Framework (figure provided represents actual expenditure in 2022, total project value was €96,000 over 2021 and 2022) | 48,737 |
| Annual Employment Survey | 14,815 |
| Annual Business Survey of Economic Impact | 49,445 |
| Review of Long-Term Lending Needs of Irish Business (figure provided represents actual expenditure in 2022, total project value was €60,000 over 2021 and 2022) | 18,287 |
| Inclusive Entrepreneurship Workshop | 25,000 |
| Regional Enterprise Plans Research Projects | 21,845 |
| Competition Amendment Bill 2022 Drafting | 8,610 |
| Survey of Public Attitudes to Trade and Inward Investment | 22,632 |
| Evaluation of State Supports for Equity Investment in Start ups (figure provided represents actual expenditure in 2022, total project value is €150,000 over 2022 and 2023) | 51,009 |
| International Financial Services – Expert Group on future Skills Needs (EGFSN) Report (figure provided represents actual expenditure in 2022, total project value is €100,000 over 2022 and 2023) | 60,220 |
| Skills Needs in the Biopharma Sector - EGFSN Report (figure provided represents actual expenditure in 2022, total project value is €100,000 over 2022 and 2023) | 47,970 |
| Review of Ireland's Enterprise Policy | 52,539 |
| Analysis of High-Level ICT Skills Demand Indicators | 2,460 |
| Investors in Diversity Certification | 10,073 |
| Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme | 39,881 |
| Review of Employment Rights Matter | 23,370 |
| Shannon Estuary Taskforce - three research reports:Enterprise opportunities of Offshore Floating Wind EnergyAssessment of Opportunities for Decarbonisation of Process HeatAssessment of Opportunities for Large Scale Rooftop PV Deployment(figure provided represents actual expenditure in 2022, total project value is €75,000 over 2022 and 2023) | 49,857 |
| Facilitation costs Finance for Scaling Group | 33,250 |
| Consultant’s report on organisational capacity and agility (Consumer Policy) | 50,532 |
| DETE Legal Advice | 1,110 |
| WRC Catering Consultancy advice | 4,305 |
| Recruitment consultancy services for ODCE / CEA* (4 occasions) | 85,011 |
| Health & Safety consultancy services for ODCE / CEA | 3,133 |
| ICT/Website consultancy for ODCE / CEA (2 occasions) | 25,782 |
| Planning Services for Microsoft Teams voice (project to be completed in 2023) | Est. 11,316 |
| DETE IT systems security testing | 8,118 |
| DETE IT systems security testing | 8,687 |
| DETE IT systems security testing | 7,149 |
*The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) was established on 7th July 2022 delivering on the action in the Programme for Government to establish the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) as a stand-alone statutory body.
The consultancy expenditure of the agencies under the remit of my Department is an operational matter for the agencies themselves.
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