Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 April 2012
358 Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a breakdown of the amount paid by his Department to mobile telephone companies for the past five years; the name of the companies used; the criteria used in deciding which mobile telephone company to use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18886/12]
View answerI refer the Deputy to the attached table which shows the total expenditure by my Department to mobile telephone companies during the period from 2007 to 2011. Payments were made to two companies, namely O2 and Vodafone, during this period. Both of these companies are eligible to provide mobile phone services to Government Departments under the Government Framework Agreement. The Deputy should note the following in respect of the attached table:
i) My Department has a significant number of staff who provide services to schools around the country and are therefore not office based, such staff include the Inspectorate and Psychologists in the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS);
ii) In addition to mobile phone expenditure relating to staff of my department the figures also cover payments in respect of the Commission to inquire into Child Abuse (CICA), the Residential Institutions Redress Board (RIRB), the Residential Institutions Review Committee (RIRC), the Visiting Teacher Services for Travellers (VTST) and the Visiting Teacher Service for Hearing and Visually Impaired (VTHVI); and
iii) Approximately €58,500 was recouped from departmental staff in respect of personal calls made for the period 2007-2011.
|
Year |
O2 |
Vodafone |
|
2007 |
€10,207.91 |
€377,875.58 |
|
2008 |
€9,301.48 |
€345,155.49 |
|
2009 |
€10,369.40 |
€310,421.35 |
|
2010 |
€6,391.33 |
€280,217.03 |
|
2011 |
€6,622.64 |
€267,880.51 |
