Batt O'Keeffe
Question:34 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social Welfare the total amount of money expended on consultancies in the past two years; the total number of reports from these consultancies; and the cost of such reports. [1497/97]
Written Answers. - Departmental Costs.
As part of its normal business, the Department has a wide range of reviews of its activities in progress at any one time. Most of these are carried out by staff of the Department as part of their normal work.
From time to time, the Department engages external assistance to provide expert technical advice of a specialised nature, to supplement existing resources and to provide strategic advice. Consultancy assignments in the Department are in respect of computer systems development, policy development and the assessment and evaluation of schemes. Formal reports would not necessarily be produced from every consultancy assignment.
Expenditure on consultancy in the years 1995 and 1996 amounted to £6,114,189 — £4,158,467 in 1995 and £1,955,722 in 1996 — and related to 37 main project areas.
Formal reports have been provided in respect of 19 of these projects. The cost of consultancy for these projects was £1,191,017 in the years concerned.