Department of Finance spends €1.9m on consultants

The Department of Finance’s spend on consultants last year topped €1.898m.

According to figures published by the department, the largest amount was paid to Arthur Cox, which received €824,247 for legal advice on restructuring the banking system, related litigation, and further emerging issues.

The second largest amount was paid to the ESRI which received €122,834 for research: financing SMEs in recovery: and ‘evidence for Irish policy options’.

Others to receive fees in excess of €100,000 include Red C which received €117,957 for AIB and Band of Ireland Surveys, and professional services in relation to the SME lending survey. Indecon received €103,689 for a review on agricultural taxation.

The department does point out that it has been able to recoup a significant portion of the outlay and recouped €975,050 in relation to the stabilisation of the banking sector and €117,967 from the Red C surveys on AIB and Bank of Ireland.

Other firms to net significant fees last year include Deloitte, which received €97,935 for advice relating to litigation, and Matheson which received €79,950 for legal advice in relation to the banking sector. Storm Technology Ltd received €75,121 for IT consultancy work.

Last year’s spend was sharply down on the 2013 total of €3.3m. The largest amount in that period was again paid to Arthur Cox which received €1.728m under a number of headings and was followed by legal firm, Matheson which received €717,923.