Staggering waste of public money by government cannot continue – Mairéad Farrell TD
13 February 2025
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Public Expenditure and Reform, Mairéad Farrell has said that revelations that the Department of Social Protection was spending €1.4m a week on business IT consultancy showed a serious lack of regard for public money.
The report identified that the Department in one year paid €25m to one firm and €22m to another. Over a two-year period, the four largest suppliers of IT service received over €126m.
Deputy Farrell called for a root and branch review of how our public procurement spending is done, which could work in tandem with a bill she is bringing forward to clearly identify cost overruns, deficient contractors, and wasteful public procurement spending by public bodies.
Teachta Farrell said:
“Everywhere we look, we see massive state contracts for services which are being paid over and above what would take place in the private sector.
“Whether it be construction contracts in the OPW for bike sheds and walls, which have little relationship to any kind of commercial reality, or IT services contracts in the Department of Social Protection for staggering amounts.
“But it is not just IT service that this Department approaches in a spendthrift way.
“In figures revealed to Sinn Féin, we know that the same Department provided a €4.2m contract for cleaning services for a two-year period, and around half a million for cleaning windows.
“It also spent around €5m on security services for a two-year contract.
“Some of these services could clearly be provided in-house and at a lesser cost. This is bonkers, and a real waste of public money.
“We can’t go on like this. It is time something was done.
“We need to do a root and branch review of how our public procurement spending is done.
“This review would put us in a position to make better use of insourcing in our public services.
“Where it is identified that cost contracts that had been outsourced could be delivered at better value by undertaking these activities in-house, we would be able to identify viable public savings.
“I have a forthcoming bill which would help to clearly identify cost overruns, deficient contractors, and wasteful public procurement spending by public bodies.
“Such a review could work in tandem with this.”
