Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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274. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the details of each time his Department, or public bodies under the aegis of his Department, enlisted the services of consultants in 2023 and 2024; the purpose, value, and duration of each contract in relation to public bodies under the aegis of his Department, including where consulting contracts are classified under ‘business-as-usual outsourcing’ for annual reporting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3789/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The details the Deputy has requested for my Department, on consultant services utilised in 2023 and 2024, are set out at the link below.

In the interest of openness and transparency my Department publishes detailed financial information on a regular basis, including details of all consultancy payments made by the Department in a given year and what services the payments related to. This information is available on the Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/294dc7-financial-information/

All consultancy contracts are procured in line with the processes and procedures laid out by the Office of Government Procurement. There are no consultants classified by the Department as 'business-as-usual outsourcing'. Consultant services are generally contracted for a particular project or programme for independent advice, opinion or research where that expertise is not available internally.

With regard to the agencies under my Department’s remit, there are four; the Western Development Commission, Pobal, Irish Water Safety, and the Charities Regulator. They are all independent legal entities governed by independent boards and executives and therefore are independent in their own financial, operational and governance matters, including managing their own consultancy arrangements.

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