Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 30 Oct 1996

Vol. 470 No. 7

Written Answers. - Consultancy Costs.

Seán Ryan

Ceist:

69 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide details of expenditure on consultancy in his Department in 1995 or the most recent year for which figures are available; and if he will provide an analysis of this expenditure as a proportion of staffing and administration costs. [19725/96]

Seán Ryan

Ceist:

70 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Finance if he will give details of the overall expenditure on consultancy by his Department in each of the years 1985, 1990 and 1995, or the most recent year for which completed figures are available; and if he will provide an analysis of these figures as a proportion of overall staffing and administration costs for each of these years. [19726/96]

Minister for Finance (Mr. Quinn)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 70 together.

The amounts spent on consultancy by my Department in the years 1985, 1990 and 1995, as published in the annual Appropriation Accounts, are shown in the table below.

Year	Expenditure on Consultancy (as published in Appropriation Accounts)	Amount as a Proportion of overall staffing and administration costs
	£	%
1985	71,200	0.9
1990	465,620	2.9
1995	1,406,000 (£414,000)*	8.3 (2.4%)*

* The figure of £1,406,000 includes an amount of £992,000 in respect of consultancy in connection with the flotation of Irish Life. The cost in 1995 of consultancy incurred under the Department's administrative budget, which provides for the cost of running the Department, was £414,000 or 2.4 per cent of the overall staffing and administration costs of the Department.

Seán Ryan

Ceist:

71 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Finance if he will give details in respect of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners of the expenditure on consultancy in 1995, or the latest year for which figures are available, giving a breakdown of these figures between consultancy on information technology related developments and other forms of consultancy; if he will give details of the type of consultancy involved; and if he will give a breakdown of expenditure under the various headings. [19727/96]

Minister for Finance (Mr. Quinn)

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that expenditure on consultancy by their Office in 1995 amounted to £489,364.91. This figure is broken down as follows:—

Consultancy on Information Technology Related Developments.	Other Forms of Consultancy.
Type	Amount	Type	Amount
	£		£
Integrated computer systems design and database support for CONTAX (Consolidated View of Taxpayers Affairs).	406,166.17	Editorial and management consultancy for Consolidation of Tax Acts.	54,450.00
On-line Remittance Processing for the Collector-General's Office.	9,263.76	Expert opinions in relation to patents, tariff classifications and valuation of motor vehicles.	10,803.23
Integrated computerised procurement system.	1,936.00	Communications design for Central Telephone Inquiry Office.	4,537.50
Tobacco Excise Stamps.	1,452.00
Executive Information System.	756.25
Total	419,574.18	Total	69,790.73