€120,000 cost for two-day tech event

The Department of An Taoiseach paid out over €120,000 to two firms to help run a two-day technology event in June.

Leo Varadkar opened the Data Summit at the Convention Centre Dublin which hosted speakers included vice president and chief internet evangelist at Google, Vint Cerf, and Ireland’s data protection commissioner Helen Dixon.

New documents show that the department paid €96,136 to events firm Happening Conference and Events Ltd for “event costs including fees, catering and promotion”. It also paid Q4 Public Relations €25,750 for providing “PR and communications services”.