Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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18. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of retired officials that were re-engaged by his Department on a consultancy basis in the past four years and to date in 2025; the reason for engaging them; the costs incurred in respect of their engagement; and if his Department requires consultants to declare conflicts of interest in advance of utilising their services. [31272/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department engages consultancy services where highly specialised skills are not available internally and in particular, where ongoing independent evaluation of programmes and projects is necessary. All consultancy procurement in the Department is carried out in accordance with relevant procurement legislation and EU Directives.

No retired officials were re-engaged by this Department on a consultancy basis in the past four years, including to date in 2025.