Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department considers hiring external consultants to produce reports 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 and Reform's guidelines for engagements of consultants by the civil service, having regard to public procurement guidelines.

Many reports commissioned are intended to be published, however, some are to inform internal procedures, to contribute to internal decision making, to provide insights for policy making, or to deliver data or analysis which contributes to broader reports published by my Department.

The total number of consultancy reports commissioned or funded by my Department that have been categorised as not for external publication from 2011 to date, along with the costs of same, are set out in tabular form below. This response relates to report producing consultancy and excludes ICT consultancy/testing services, audit services and legal advice. Note that some reports span two years, incurring costs in both.

*2022 and 2023 include reports prepared for the independent Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce. These reports contributed to the Shannon Estuary Economic Taskforce Report.