Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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External professional services are procured by the Department only where specialised knowledge and/or skills are not available within the Department and, particularly in the case of Irish Aid (Ireland's official development assistance programme), where an independent evaluation of programmes and projects is required. Given the overall scale of the Irish Aid Programme, this level of monitoring, review and evaluation is both prudent and proportionate. My Department does not use the services of professionals who operate on the basis of agreed fee scales or fees which are set by statute or regulation.

These services are procured on foot of competitive tendering which is designed to achieve the best value for money from the market. Services procured in this manner do not allow for post-hoc unilateral reduction of fees by my Department, as this could expose the State to the risk of litigation for breach of contract.

On the basis of 2010 expenditure, a further reduction in fees of 25%, if achieved through future tendering, would equate to savings of €350,000.