Vol. 495 No. 5
152 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if he will provide figures on the cost of consultancies undertaken by the private sector for his Department for each of the years from 1995 to 1997 and the forecasted figure for 1998. [20710/98]
The cost of consultancy services undertaken by the private sector for my Department, since its formation in July 1997, amounted to £99,487 in that year, all but £6,000 of which related to consultancies commissioned prior to my appointment. Forecasted expenditure for 1998 is estimated at approximately £250,000, some 70 per cent of which again relates to expenditure on consultancies commissioned prior to my appointment.
