The following table outlines the expenditure by the Department on mobile phone bills. The expenditure in the National Archives is included as it forms an integral component of the Department.
Year
|
Total
|
Dept. HQ
|
National Archives
|
|
€
|
€
|
€
|
2007
|
33,527.64
|
32,690.55
|
837.09
|
2008
|
55,165.98
|
46,110.49
|
9,055.49
|
2009
|
42,382.08
|
35,551.04
|
6,831.04
|
2010 (6 mths)
|
22,478.71
|
19,575.29
|
2,903.42
|
Including those in the National Archives, there are 45 staff currently with mobile phones provided by the Department. As the Deputy will appreciate the use of mobile phones is vital to the effective operation of the Department which has decentralised to Killarney as staff can be in contact while travelling between the offices in Killarney and Dublin, between meetings and, of course, outside of normal office hours.
Vodafone is the mobile phone operator currently contracted to supply service to both the Departmental headquarters and the National Archives. The current contract in respect of the Departmental headquarters was agreed in August 2009 while the National Archives contract was agreed in March 2010. Both contracts were agreed following completion of a competitive tendering process carried out under the Mobile Voice and Data Services Framework.