Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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163. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide a breakdown of the amount expended by his Department on consultancies in 2023 and to date in 2024; the company engaged; and the nature of the work conducted by the consultancy on his Department’s behalf, in tabular form. [40211/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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My Department considers engaging consultancy services in cases where there is not the necessary expertise to deliver a 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.

The amount spent by my Department on consultancies; which I’ve taken to include reports, surveys, and audit services paid under my Department’s AD7 Consultancy Budget, in 2023 and to date in 2024 is set out in tabular form in the attached. I have also included ICT consultancy services for completeness.