The outgoing coalition government spent more than €37 million on consultants over the last two years, according to official spending data compiled by The Sunday Times.
Figures disclosed by government departments in response to parliamentary questions last year from Catherine Murphy, the former Social Democrats TD, show how tens of millions of euros were spent on consultancy work that included proofreading, legal advice, IT services and external audits and evaluations, some of which were legally required, in 2023 and last year.
While the departments argued that the spending on outside expertise was necessary and that value for money was sought, the scale of the outlay across two years is likely to prompt questions from opposition parties. They have already criticised the Fine Gael, Fianna Fail
