Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 November 2019
327. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount spent on bottled water and disposable coffee cups by her Department to date in 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48189/19]
View answerThe Department has two contracts through the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) for the provision of drinking water. One contract is for mains-fed water coolers; the other provides for 9 litre bottle-fed coolers where mains-fed coolers are not an option. The 9 litre water containers are reusable and are collected with each new delivery. Following the Government decision to end the purchasing of single-use plastic, the Department has issued staff with individual reusable water bottles for use with these water-coolers.
The Department does not purchase disposable coffee cups but rather provides china, glasses and cutlery for meetings and events.
The spend on water coolers to the end of October 2019 is as follows:
- 9 litre reusable container water contract - €25,918
- Mains-fed contract - €25,652.
