My Department only avails of the services of external photographic agencies where it is warranted, in particular, for major events and State occasions. This is a service which my Department provides so that the media can easily and freely avail of photography where their own staff photographers cannot be fully accommodated. Events such as the visit of the President of Mozambique, the visit of the Thai Royal Family and the Presidential Distinguished Service Awards resulted in positive coverage of Ireland.
In September 2011, my Department led a collaborative advertised tender process for the procurement of a multi-supplier competitive framework of photographic service providers. This is now available for use by all Government Departments. Details of the framework arrangements and the photographers used are posted on the National Procurement Service website: www.procurement.ie/suppliers/contracts/1298. The purpose of this framework is to ensure Departments’ compliance with EU procurement rules and to ensure value for money by having a competitive process for photographic assignments.
In addition, my Department now makes greater use of in-house resources for photography, including, for example, at the Irish-Africa Economic Forum in October.
The total cost of photography to my Department over the period in question is €17698.14.
The table indicates the cost associated with particular events.
|
Event
|
Costs
|
|
Visit of President of Mozambique
|
3102.5
|
|
Official visit to New York and Washington DC
|
2683.78
|
|
Diplomatic Credentials Ceremonies
|
2493.9
|
|
Expenditure at Missions*
|
2261.27
|
|
Visit of the Thai Royal Family
|
1377.6
|
|
Presidential Distinguished Service Awards 2014
|
783.14
|
|
National Ploughing Championship
|
687
|
|
Schools Awareness Programmes
|
561
|
|
Irish Aid Awards 2014
|
560.88
|
|
Visit of Scottish Minister Hyslop
|
551.04
|
|
Reconciliation Forum
|
516.6
|
|
Irish Aid Zero Hunger Event
|
398.46
|
|
Unveiling of W.B Yeats Statue
|
378.84
|
|
Visit by Canadian Foreign Minister
|
378.84
|
|
Iveagh House Commemorative Lecture by Congressman John Lewis
|
327.18
|
|
Irish Aid Volunteering Fair
|
241
|
|
Meeting with Senator Gary Hart
|
240.45
|
|
Irish Aid Annual Report Launch
|
103
|
|
Images of Seal of Office
|
34.44
|
|
Image Xi Jinping Visit
|
17.22
|
|
|
17698.14
|
*It was not possible to provide a full breakdown in the time available.
