Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 February 2019
212. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of consultants from firms (details supplied) contracted to perform work in 2018; and the amount spent on consultants from each firm. [7194/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe procurement of external consultancy services is essential to support my Department in providing high quality service to the public in a cost effective and efficient manner.
The Department is engaged in a number of service delivery modernisation and transformation programmes involving business process, organisational and technological change. These programmes are supported by the procurement of separate external development services (IT external service provision) as well as engagement of external consultants to provide strategic technical advice.
Consultants are engaged for a fixed period following procurement exercises conducted in accordance with Department procedures that are compliant with EU and national legislation and with guidelines set down by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
A breakdown of annual expenditure on consultancy and IT external service provision, and a list of purchase orders for €20,000 and above, is available on the Department’s website at http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Procurement-Policy.aspx Under the FOI publication scheme and with effect from January 2016, the Department also publishes details of public contracts awarded over €25k at http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Procurement-Contracts-Awarded.aspx.
All consultancy related payments in my Department are made from the consultancy budget (A2(vii)subhead). In 2018, Deloitte LLP were awarded two consultancy contracts (i) for External Development Services to produce a DEASP Data Strategy and (ii) for the provision of expert consultancy support on the deployment of online services and the development of a strategic implementation plan for the implementation of a Digital Transformation and the Front Office/Back Office service model.
In 2018, two consultants worked on the Data Strategy and invoices totalling €188,289 were paid and ten consultants worked on the Digital Transformation project and invoices totalling €100,294 were paid. No payments were made to the other companies listed by the Deputy from the my Departments consultancy budget in 2018.
