Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 January 2014
118. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form a list of all professional fees, including but not limited to legal, consultancy, IT-related, advisory, capital, advertising and accountancy fees; the company name and the amount invoiced between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2013, and the same for all agencies under the aegis of his Department. [1917/14]
View answerIn response to the Deputy's question the following table outlines the total amount spent on professional fees since the formation of my Department up to 31 December 2013:
*The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) is a North South Implementation Body established under the Good Friday Agreement. It is headquartered in Belfast and its administration costs are funded by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance and Personnel Northern Ireland. SEUPB manages the EU North South cross-border programmes, PEACE and INTERREG. These EU Programmes have a total value of €589m in the current 2007-2013 EU programming round. The EU Programme costs are co-funded by the EU and by contributions from Government Departments, North and South.
The information in the tables below has been taken from SEUPB's register of contracts for the years 2011-2012. The data is divided in two tables. Table 1 Contracts funded via Administration Budget Irish Funding shows the cost of contracts related to core administration costs. Table 2 Contracts funded via Technical Assistance Gross Irish Contribution before EU Refund shows the gross cost of contracts related to the PEACE and INTERREG Programmes, which are funded under the respective Programme's Technical Assistance priority. The gross cost includes the EU-funded element, for which the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will subsequently receive a refund from the European Commission. These refunds are at the rate of 54% refund for PEACE Programme expenditure and 75% for INTERREG Programme expenditure.
The data provided relates to contracts awarded in the years 2011, 2012 and 2013. The Special EU Programmes Body did not have sufficient time to collate the invoice data under the three cost centres (Administration, PEACE and INTERREG) but the SEUPB has indicated that the figures would not be significantly different, and that, if anything the invoiced total may be a lower figure, depending on the span of the contract.
