Vol. 475 No. 8
260 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Defence the number of reports or studies which have been commissioned by him since his appointment; the cost of each report in each case; whether the report has been made publicly available; and if not the reason therefor. [6124/97]
261 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for Defence the number of consultants' reports commissioned by his Department since he took office; the number which have been completed; and the cost to date. [6140/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 260 and 261 together.
I refer the Deputies to my answers to Question No. 299 of 28 January 1997 and Question No. 32 of 11 February 1997. The number of reports which have been completed by consultants since I took office was three. The total cost of their reports/services was £60,242. One report related to computerisation in the Naval Service which was funded jointly with the Department of the Marine. The report was not made public as it was of a specialised and technical nature relating to aspects of fishery protection and not of public interest. The other two reports were produced in connection with the strategic management initiative in the Department and the Defence Forces and both of their strategy statements will be published shortly.
